DBH: The 30 Day RoboWhump Challenge
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: Connor endures thirty days of unusual circumstances that Lieutenant Hank Anderson helps him to understand and recover from in a fairly devious manner. Fortunately Connor has his friends to watch his back and help him get back on his feet every time he gets knocked down. (*I accept the challenge: The tumblr "30 Day RoboWhump" challenge to be exact.)
1. Low Power Cells

Ever attentive Connor sat at his desk directly connected to the opposite side of Hank's desk in silent contemplation as he studied a single case file that had left him relatively stumped. In a statuesque pose Connor worked well into the late night and early morning hours determined to solve his case. While the rest of the day shift had long since clocked out and gone home for the night Connor remained at his desk bound and determined to locate the criminal who had eluded the law for almost four consecutive months now. The yellow flickering of his L.E.D. matched the pulse of his Thirium pump thrumming away in his chest as he diligently concentrated on his work, while his quarter danced gracefully over the knuckles of his right hand.

The cell phone that Hank insisted Connor carry was sitting on his desk ignored until it began to ring. The sound brought Connor's focus away from the case for the first time in almost nine hours and his L.E.D. blinked rapidly in response. Looking down at the phone he saw that the caller was Hank himself and knew he needed to answer right away.

Swiping the green 'Answer' button on the display screen Connor acknowledged the call in a calm tone of voice. "Lieutenant."

'_Connor, what the fuck are you doing? It's three in the morning_. _Where are you_?'

"I am working, Lieutenant. The case regarding-"

'_Yeah, yeah, I know what the case is about We were BOTH assigned to it_.' Hank snapped impatiently as he spoke to his partner in a gruff voice over the phone with mounting impatience. '_What I want to know is why the hell you're still there?_ _ Your shift is over, it's time for you to clock out and come home_.'

"I've had a breakthrough, Lieutenant. I believe I can pinpoint the exact location of the suspect within the hour. I just need-"

'_Fine,_ _whatever_.' He interrupted with an annoyed snarl. '_As soon as if you figure out where the jerk is hiding let Reed or Miller, or whoever the fuck is on the night shift handle it. Got it_?'

"Got it. Goodnight Lieutenant."

'_Whatever_.'..

The phone call ended as abruptly as it started and Connor resumed his work. As he stared at the terminal screen on his desk a red warning flashed through his visual processors that temporarily distracted the devoted deviant detective.

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL LOW: 65%**

**REST MODE ACTIVATION: 01:29:57**

Connor blinked his eyes as he dismissed the warning and turned off the automatic rest mode function in his processors. The deviant android didn't need to rest, or so he tried to convince himself. Ever since his deviancy he no longer had a perpetual connection with CyberLife, or anyone else, to keep him healthy or tell him what to do.

His own health was now his own personal responsibility.

The late hours of the night faded into the early hours of the morning as the sun began to rise over the city. Connor hadn't left his desk as he continued his attempt to locate the suspect, nor had he obeyed his system and allowed himself to slip into rest mode to restore his steadily waning power at the designated countdown time.

Steadily the other officers filed in for the morning shift as the night patrol clocked out to head back home. Captain Fowler wasn't surprised to see Connor already at his desk, neither was Chris or Tina, whereas Gavin didn't give a damn about what the deviant did. However, one very stern Lieutenant did give a damn about Connor and wasn't afraid to let him know that.

"Connor, what the hell?" Hank asked as he stormed into the precinct and grabbed onto the deviant android's shoulder. "I thought I told you to come home."

"You requested that I return home after I locate the suspect. I have not yet located the suspect."

Hank crossed his arms as he moved away from Connor's desk and sat behind his own with an angry huff. "I can't tell if you're being serious or sarcastic."

Connor gave Hank an innocent shrug of the shoulders. "I am in fact being serious. I apologize if my behavior has been confusing."

"Connor, how long have you been working?"

"Twenty-six hours, thirty-three minutes and nine seconds."

"Uh-huh, and when was the last time you took a break? Even those CyberLife assholes mandated that you took an hour long break to keep your systems from overheating, or losing power, or whatever it is that happens to you when you get tired."

"I took my mandatory one hour break when you did."

"Connor?"

"Yes?

"That was yesterday afternoon at four. It's seven in the morning."

Connor nodded with a twinge of embarrassment as he finally understood Hank's grievance. "Lieutenant, this suspect has assaulted three people with a gun. He must be apprehended. A fifteen hour shift, though unintentional, has proven necessary."

"I agree." Hank lowered his voice to sound less annoyed and more empathetic as he leaned forward against his desk. "But you're not going to do anyone any good if you work yourself to death. Take a damn break."

"But I-"

"Don't try to throw some bullshit my way about androids having more endurance than humans, or androids being able to function on low-power, I already know that. My point is I don't WANT you to work yourself into the ground." As he spoke his 'dad voice' crept in a little bit without him even noticing. "You're not answering to those CyberLife assholes anymore, you're answering to either me or to Fowler, and we don't expect you to work any harder than any other cop in this building just because you're a fuckin' android. That's all."

Connor patiently listened to Hank as his systems began to automatically deactivate his non-vital functions as a means of preserving what little power he had left to postpone rest mode for as long as possible.

"I will go into rest mode as soon as-" An update appeared on Connor's terminal screen which drew his attention from Hank and back to his work. "The suspect has been located and he is currently four blocks away. I have the address."

"Yeah, well go tell-" Hank watched as the deviant android hastily rose from his chair and made his way toward the front doors of the precinct. "Hey! Connor?"

Hank practically jumped out of his own chair as he chased after his ambitious partner just as the deviant android crossed through the parking garage next to the precinct and reached the passenger door of Hank's car.

"We need to hurry if we're to catch the suspect before he disappears again."

"Damn it, Connor." Hank swore as he unlocked the doors of the car and climbed into the driver's seat. He knew the deviant android was too damn stubborn for his own good, and needed to learn some patience. "Which way?"

Connor cybernetically uploaded the address of the suspect's last known location into the G.P.S. mounted on the dashboard of the car. As he connected to the device his yellow tinted L.E.D. cycled faster then slowed to a calmer pace.

"Alright," Hank backed the car out of the space and pulled the older vehicle onto the street. "as soon as he's cuffed you're going to take a rest and you're NOT going to talk me out of it."

"Yes, Lieutenant. I will rest once the suspect is in custody."

During the drive to the suspects address a new warning popped up in bright red illumination in Connor's visual processors causing his L.E.D. to shift from yellow to red as he acknowledged then tried to actively dismiss the warning.

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL CRITICALLY LOW: 10%**

**REST MODE: ACTIVATION: 00:00:28**

Connor closed his eyes as he forced his programming to override the mandatory protocol yet again. Despite his overwhelming exhaustion starting to creep over his system, his programming triggering low-power mode automatically, Connor refused to stand down until the suspect had at last been caught.

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL CRITICALLY LOW: 9%**

**WARNING:**

**REST MODE - DISABLED**

Losing his ability to scan the environment, run analysis samples in real time and losing his enhanced senses made the deviant android feel more human than ever before. However it was when his artificial respiration halved itself to conserve energy he felt, and looked, more like a corpse with how eerily still he sat. Prioritizing his dwindling power to more appropriate programs and to his vital biocomponents Connor gave himself approximately ten additional minutes of power until he'd have to enter rest mode and recharge.

Hank stopped the car outside of the apartment complex that matched the address with a relentless jerk as he stomped on the brake. The sudden jolt forced Connor's eyes back open as Hank threw open his door and leapt out of the car to begin his search for the suspect in question. Connor scrambled gracelessly out of his seat to follow after Hank as the human called for the elevator with one hand, and pulled his gun from the holster on his right hip.

"I'll use the elevator." The senior detective ordered in a calm and level voice. "You head him off at the stairwell in case he tries to run."

"Right." Connor pushed open the door leading to the stairwell and began jogging up the staircase. "Apartment 2-C."

The act of running up the staircase had proven itself unexpectedly more tiring to the android than he had anticipated. With his system functioning on low-power the physical strain of running with his respiration program at half capacity was wearing down his power at an alarming fast rate, while causing his core temperature to steadily rise.

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL CRITICALLY LOW: 7%**

**WARNING:**

**REST MODE - DISABLED**

**WARNING:**

**EMERGENCY REST MODE: 00:02:59**

Connor made his way to the correct floor and pushed open the door of the stairwell leading into the long hallway. Peering through the doorway of the stairwell without making a sound Connor saw Hank standing outside the suspect's door with his gun pointed at the floor.

Hank nodded to Connor to acknowledge his presence as he knocked on the door correct apartment door. "Detroit Police, open the door."

The frantic sound of someone running about the small apartment caused Hank to wisely back away from the door and press his back up against the wall as the suspect jerked the door open and bolted through to try to escape. Turning in the direction of the stairwell the suspect unknowingly ran right into the line of sight of the second officer at the scene. Connor easily intercepted the fleeing human and held him in place inside the stairwell by pinning the man's arms behind his back.

Meanwhile Hank caught up in a matter of seconds and trained his gun on the man who was attempting to break free of Connor's weakening hold. "FREEZE." The senior detective shouted at the suspect. "Detroit Police, asshole!"

Connor's vision began to flash red again as his remaining power was drained away during the ongoing struggle.

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL CRITICALLY LOW: 5%**

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL CRITICALLY LOW: 4%**

**WARNING:**

**EMERGENCY REST MODE - 00:00:47**

Forcing the warnings out of his line of sight with another dismiss Connor put all of his remaining strength into pinning the suspect's arms behind his back and forced him down from the wall and onto the ground, onto his stomach.

Hank took out the radio tucked in his coat pocket to deliver an update on the arrest. "Suspect located and detained at my location. Requesting back-up."

Kneeling down beside the suspect Hank pulled the pair of handcuffs from the back of his belt and snapped them over the human's wrists to help restrain him.

"Alright asswipe, you're under arrest for multiple assaults. Don't make it worse by resisting arrest to the charges."

Connor let go of the suspect and stood upright against the wall to rest. The L.E.D. in his temple hadn't stopped flashing red as his power level continued to drop and his core temperature continued to rise.

Hank grabbed onto the suspect's arms and hefted him up from the ground to pin him against the opposite wall under his bicep. Glancing over his shoulder Hank eyed his partner warily. "Connor? You good?"

"...Y-Yes..." Connor practically slurred as he tried to resist his program from sending him into rest mode against his will.

"No, you're not. You look dead on your feet!"

Chris and his new partner, Tyler O'Riley, appeared at the top of the staircase with their guns drawn and immediately went to assist Hank.

"We were in the neighborhood when we heard your call, Lieutenant." Chris explained as he and Tyler took charge of the suspect. "We got him for ya'."

"Thanks, Chris. All the paperwork on this scumbag's on Connor's terminal. Take care of it, will ya'? I need to get Connor home before he collapses."

"Sure, no problem."

Hank returned his attention to the deviant android standing as straight as a post with his back against the wall, and his eyes closed. Putting his hand to Connor's shoulder to keep the deviant android alert to his presence Hank snapped his fingers in Connor's face to get his attention. "Connor? You still awake?"

**WARNING:**

**POWER LEVEL CRITICALLY LOW: 2%**

**EMERGENCY REST MODE - INITIATED**

Connor's red L.E.D. began pulsing slower and slower until at last his body went limp. If Hank hadn't already been supporting his shoulder Connor would've collapsed in a heap right there on the floor and smashed his head on the ground.

"Whoa... I gotcha'." Hank bent down a little and let Connor limply fall over his shoulder to be carried out to the car. Wrapping his arm around Connor's legs Hank carried his exhausted partner to the elevator and sighed with a righteous irritation as he pressed the button on the panel for the lobby. "This is why you need to pace yourself, Connor. You're only one person, not a whole damn team."

With very little effort Hank carried Connor's lightweight form out of the elevator once he reached the ground floor, and over to the car. With a gentle motion he sat the unconscious deviant android down in the front passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt before returning to his own seat behind the wheel. Turning the key in the ignition Hank pulled away from the side of the street and sighed loudly at Connor's foolishness.

Hank glanced over at Connor's face as the unconscious, almost entirely motionless deviant android looked as though he had simply fallen asleep.

"Why do you have to look so much like a kid, huh?" Hank asked out loud to his unconscious partner, not that he was expecting a response. "Fuckin' hate it when kids are too damn stubborn for their own good."

Throughout the entire drive home the L.E.D. in Connor's temple was a very faint red that pulsed at an incredibly pale, and slow rate. Worried that Connor was worse than he looked, or would ever admit to being, Hank reached his hand over and pressed it down against Connor's chest and felt his Thirium pump still actively circulating the blue blood through his biocomponents. He could also feel a heat radiating from Connor's person, but he chalked that up to his system being overworked, and not to a secondary problem.

"Good. You're not dead. YET." Hank put his hand back on the wheel as he turned onto his block to get back home as quickly as possible. "But if you keep this up I _will_ kill you."

Pulling the car into the driveway alongside his house Hank sighed once more and pulled open Connor's door to heft the deviant android back over his shoulder again. Fumbling with the key in the door lock Hank walked into the house where Sumo happily greeted his returning human master with a low bark and wag of his tail.

"Hey Sumo, down boy."

Still being gentle Hank laid Connor down on the couch while Sumo followed behind him closely. Petting the dog's head Hank walked over to the large stereo system at the wall of the livingroom and picked up a large metal black box with 'CyberLife' written in silver text over the lid. Inside the box were three separate emergency power supply units that could be attached to an android's L.E.D. to recharge an android's power supply when dangerously low.

"Alright, if this doesn't work then it's not my fault." Hank grumbled as he picked up the first small circular disc and held it between his index finger and thumb.

The disc was no bigger than a nickel and made out of a magnetic cobalt alloy. Pressing the disc to the L.E.D. in Connor's temple it attached itself in place magnetically and began glowing a bright blue as it restored a generous twenty percent of much needed power to Connor's system.

After a minute of charging Connor's brown eyes snapped open and he took in a deep breath as his respiration program returned to normal capacity. Sitting upright on the couch the deviant android looked around the house in confusion as he had no memory of returning home. The last thing he remembered was pinning the suspect to the ground at the apartment building.

"Hi. Welcome back." Hank greeted with a facetious lilt to his voice as he crossed his arms and gave Connor a smug grin. "How do ya' feel?"

"Lieutenant? How did I get home?" Connor's L.E.D. flashed from red to yellow with confusion as his power began to restore.

"You collapsed after you caught the suspect. I brought you home, myself. In other words, you were a dumbass."

"I... I'm sorry, Hank. You were right, and I shouldn't have pushed myself so hard. It was reckless, dangerous and it could've endangered us both while we were out in the field."

"You're right, you shouldn't." Hank motioned for Connor to scoot over as he sat down on the couch next to him. Sumo rested his chin Hank's knee in the process and eagerly sought some affection with ear rubs. "But at least you kept your word."

"I... did? To what are you referring?"

"You promised that once we caught the guy you'd take a rest. And you did."

"I did not intend to enter rest mode while we were at the scene of the crime." A pale blue blush appeared on Connor's face as the deviant felt embarrassed by actions of the day. "I intended to do so once we left the precinct."

"Don't sweat it, just remember to take a break every now and then. And since we caught the suspect everything is fine."

"...I'm glad the case has been closed."

"Stop kicking yourself about passing out. And please, for the love of what's left of _my_ sanity, don't pass out while we're on the clock ever again. Fowler might think you picked up a 'bad habit' from me."

Nodding a little Connor lightly traced his fingertips over the magnetic disc on his right temple covering his L.E.D. that had returned to a blue color. "I will remember to do so from now on."

"Good. Until then, take it easy and get some damn sleep." Getting up from the couch Hank pulled Sumo away so Connor could lay down. "And don't get up until you're back to one-hundred percent."

Laying down over the length of the furniture as instructed Connor nodded and closed his eyes. "I will do so. Thank you for your help, Lieutenant."

"For fuck sake, we're off the clock, call me 'Hank'."

"Of course. Thank you, _Hank_."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	2. Voice Modulator Damage

Assisting in the arrest of the 'red ice' dealer wasn't too difficult of a task to perform, but escorting the arrested and dangerously high man to the back of the squad car had proven itself to be a rather monumental task to the responding officers at the scene. Working alongside Chris to drag the struggling, cuffed and paranoid man to the back of the squad car Connor read the man his Miranda rights, and held firmly onto the man's shoulders to direct the arrested man to the car for transport.

"You have the right to remain silent," Connor stated in a calm and level voice. His L.E.D. blinking a steady blue in tandem with his calm heart. "anything you say can and will be used against you-"

"FUCK OFF!" The man shouted as he tried to break free of Connor's grip. "I ain't going back to jail!"

"Unfortunately you are. As I was saying; anything you say and can will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to-"

"NO!" Pulling his shoulder out of Connor's grip the man swung his arms cuffed around his back about wildly. "Get away!"

"Sir, you need to-"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME!"

"Sir, I'm-" Connor was cut off mid sentence as the man's wild swinging had resulted in a direct elbow into his throat. Stammering and stepping back as he pressed his hand to his pained throat Connor coughed once and failed to say anything further. As his L.E.D. flashed to red in sudden pain Connor wisely kept his distance to prevent further damage.

"Whoa!" Chris regained control over the flailing suspect and threw him to the ground while Connor tried to recover after being elbowed in his throat. Pinning the suspect down chest first on the ground and putting his knee down in the middle of the suspect's back Chris managed to hold him down and check on his current patrol partner. "Are you okay, Sergeant?"

Connor tried and failed to speak. Keeping his hand over his throat Connor just nodded and ran a self-diagnostic forcing his L.E.D. to shift to yellow then back to red as the damage was registered and analyzed.

**WARNING:**

**-Biocomponent v8002 Damaged: 24% Functionality**

**ERROR**

_**[...Self-healing program insufficient]**_

**Recommendations:**

_**[...Repairs necessary]**_

_**[...Seek assistance]**_

Tapping his index and middle fingertips against his damaged throat Connor was able to silently communicate to Chris that he had suffered damage and could not longer speak.

"Shit... Alright, man, I'll get you back the precinct's dispensary."

Connor nodded as he walked over to the pinned suspect and grabbed onto the man's arm in a very tight grip as he and Chris worked together to haul the man up and off of the grass and finally take him to the back of the squad car. Placing the suspect in the backseat Chris slammed the door shut and gave Connor a sympathetic stare.

"Sorry, man."

Still unable to speak Connor just wrapped his hand over his affected throat and shook his head a little to communicate that he didn't blame Chris for his injury.

"Does it hurt?" The kind officer asked as he walked over to the driver's side door, while Connor approached the passenger side door.

Shaking his head 'no' again Connor confirmed that his injury wasn't resulting in any pain.

"Well, that's good. I guess..." Turning over the engine Chris picked up the radio to confirm the arrest to dispatch and of their return to the precinct. "I'm just glad you can still breathe, that looked like one nasty hit!"

Nodding a little Connor confirmed the severity of the strike and his red tinted L.E.D. cycled back to a slightly better yellow color. Closing his eyes Connor sent a cybernetic message to Hank's phone to inform him that he had suffered minor damage to his voice modulator while assisting in an arrest, but that he would be able to make a full recovery in time.

The message wouldn't be the best thing for Hank to read when he was finally free of the mandatory meeting that kept him cooped up in the precinct all day, but it was better than not being told anything at all.

* * *

With literally very little say in the situation Connor promptly went to the second floor of the dispensary to see Joel and allow the precinct's designated technician examine his throat. Sitting down on the exam table Connor obediently allowed the technician to shine a light in his opened mouth to ensure there wasn't any internal structural damage to his throat or Thirium leaking, then lightly ran his hand down the sides of Connor's throat before pressing lightly against the front surface of his throat where his air intake line, the equivalent to an esophagus, was located.

"Aside from being unable to speak," Joel clarified as he motioned for Connor lay back against the table. "are you having any difficulty with ventilation or your ability to swallow?"

Connor lightly shook his head 'no' and watched as Joel pressed his left fingertips down again the yellow flickering L.E.D. in his right temple, then pressed his right fingertips to the under side of his chin. The two pressure points manually deactivated the artificial skin around Connor's lower jaw and down to his collarbone to expose the white plastimetal frame beneath.

"Okay. I'm going to open up the panel on the front of your throat, I recommend going into stasis mode for the next twenty minutes so you don't move around by accident."

Nodding in agreement Connor closed his eyes and soon his yellow L.E.D. cycled back to blue and beat very slowly in his tandem with his calm heart rate.

"Alright, this shouldn't take too long..." Sliding open the panel on the front of Connor's throat Joel was greeted by the sight of the hardware that was responsible for verbal communication completely smashed and covered in blue blood. As the lost Thirium steadily seeped from damaged lines and ran down the sides of Connor's neck Joel used a sterilized wad of gauze to absorb the lost Thirium and clean up the mess. "Well, that explains why your self-healing program can't fix this. Damn, you were hit _hard_."

With a careful hand Joel removed the damaged circuitry from Connor's opened throat and closed off the damaged Thirium lines to keep them from bleeding any further. Disposing of the heavily damaged piece of hardware Joel found the appropriate replacement contained in his incredibly vast selection of spare parts kept in the metal storage locker in the back of the dispensary. Selecting the only compatible piece in the collection Joel returned to his lone patient and easily slipped the new circuitry into place and reconnected the Thirium lines.

"Easy." Replacing the panel over Connor's throat Joel manually regenerated the deviant's artificial skin and attached a black diagnostic cable to the deviant android's L.E.D. to run a full system analysis. "Let's see how your system handles the new hardware..."

While the analysis program ran Hank walked into the dispensary to check on his wounded deviant partner and just stared at Connor's blank, expressionless face as Connor remained in stasis mode despite the procedure being over. "He sent me a text a while ago," Hank stated rather bluntly as he put his hand on Connor's motionless shoulder. "but he didn't give me too many details beyond getting elbowed in the throat."

"Yeah, it was a strong blow. It damaged his voice modulator which means he can't speak, but I've replaced it and now his system is recalibrating to handle the new hardware."

"His voice box got busted? Is he still going to sound like himself?"

"Yeah. Androids can shift their voices and pitch at will, and all of their auditory and verbal processors are located in the head. The damage to his throat just destroyed the modulator that allows him to speak on a verbal degree."

"Oh. Cool. When will he wake-up?"

"About fifteen more minutes. Once the recalibration finishes he'll wake up and his self-healing program will finish what I've already started."

"And how long until he can talk again?"

"Uh, according to his own systems his voice modulator was down to twenty-four percent capacity when he had been injured, which means his system is going to need to readjust and recognize the new hardware as fully functional, so I'd estimate four hours."

"Four hours? Shit, that's a long time go without talking."

"It might be best to take him home to rest, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, I think you're right. Once he's awake I'll get him back to the house."

"Think he'll put up a fight?"

"Always." Watching as the diagnostic screen showed Connor's system recalibration at eighty-two percent and climbing steadily. Without disturbing the resting deviant Hank just stood beside the table and waited for him to rouse from his stasis mode. "Damn kid needs to learn to put his health above his career."

* * *

Just as Hank expected Connor wasn't happy to leave his shift early and return home all due to a silly injury. Despite arguing logically that Connor needed to be able to communicate verbally in order to do his job properly Connor insisted that it wasn't a problem since he could communicate through text messages to phones, cybernetic messages to other androids and could communicate with fluent American Sign Language.

When Captain Fowler sided with Hank and ordered the deviant to go home until his voice returned Connor looked like he had been kicked in the stomach. The last thing he wanted to do was sit on the sidelines while everyone else was still working hard on cases.

"Don't mope." Hank pleaded as Connor sat in the middle of the livingroom floor and ran a brush through Sumo's thick fur.

The deviant's blue L.E.D. flickered to yellow for a moment as he sent a message to Hank's phone: '_I'm not moping_.'

"Yeah, ya' are." Reading over the message as he plopped down over the length of the couch Hank sighed and watched the young deviant focusing on grooming the dog's fur. "You'll be able to go back to the precinct tomorrow and pick up right where you left off."

'_I dislike being unable to speak_.'

"Yeah, I don't blame ya'. If my battery dies then you'll have to write shit down or play charades with me."

'_Have you ever lost your voice before_?'

"Once. I had strep throat when I was eight and it knocked out my voice for three days. It sucked!"

Connor pressed his fingertips to his throat as he tested his own voice. "...Did... it... hurt?"

"Me? No, it didn't hurt. But listening to your hoarse, metallic voice does! Don't push yourself if you're not ready, save your voice until you're one-hundred percent."

Resuming his communication via text messages Connor pulled the collected loose fur from the brush and began combing through Sumo's fur on the massive dog's other side. '_Did the suspect hurt anyone else_?'

"No, he passed out in the interrogation room when his manic high ended. He was out cold and sleeping off the drugs in the drunk tank when we left."

'_I'm glad no one else was injured_.'

"How about we pick a movie and chill out for the rest of the night?" Hank kept his eyes on his phone. "No comedies though, I don't want you laughing and accidentally hurting your throat."

'_What did you have in mind_?'

"I dunno'. You've seen most of the classics already, and I'm not going to let you watch horror movies until you stop having nightmares about CyberLife."

'_Maybe we should watch a silent movie due this unusual occasion_.'

"That's alright by me, ya' smartass. How about 'The Phantom of the Opera'? That might be a great was to ease you into horror films."

Connor smirked and nodded his head as he finished fussing with Sumo's fur and sat down on the couch beside Hank as the senior detective sat upright and made room for Connor to join him. '_That sounds fine to me_.'

_**-next chapter-**_


	3. Overheating

It was the middle of July and Detroit was caught in the grips of a scorching heatwave. With temperatures reaching triple digits by noon it didn't take long for the populous to start feeling weak, tired, ill and irritable. The police force was stretched thin as numerous calls regarding violent outbursts plagued the city and summer activities taking place in the park required constant preventative supervision in the event of more violence, or victims of heat stroke.

To compensate for the massive amount of required supervision Hank was assigned to patrol Hart Plaza, while Connor was assigned a separate patrol through Roosevelt Park. The other officers at the precinct had also been assigned patrols beyond their usual caseload until the heat wave finally faded.

Passing through unnoticed by people enjoying the summer day with picnics, family walks, and other activities through the park Connor enjoyed the peaceful ambience that accompanied the joyous atmosphere. The sun rose high into the sky and just past noon the day had already reached a frighteningly high temperature of one-hundred and four degrees Fahrenheit.

While the people in the park wore light clothing, sought shade under trees or parasols, and kept cool with ice cold drinks Connor didn't have such fortunate options at his disposal. Androids didn't sweat which made them especially vulnerable to extreme heat, and they have no ability to consume water or other liquids, their only option was to drink chilled Thirium when their Thirium volume dropped low enough to warrant such a replenishment.

Two red warnings popped up in Connor's visual processors as he lapped around the park for the fifth time that day. His core temperature was beginning to rise as a result of the extremely warm summer day and Connor had few options to remedy the situation. Despite his ventilation biocomponents functioning at full capacity to cool his systems his thermal regulator was unable to maintain a consistent temperature causing Connor's internal systems to gradually overheat.

**WARNING:**

**CORE TEMPERATURE - RISING: 101 DEGREES**

**WARNING:**

**CORE TEMPERATURE - NEAR CRITICAL**

Dismissing the warnings Connor resumed his patrol, though his L.E.D. had shifted from blue to yellow due to his rising core temperature and overall physical distress.

Another hour passed without incident for the patrolling deviant android through the park, though the day continued to grow hotter and hotter. Connor sighed deeply and tried to focus his attention on his breathing, trying to keep his ventilation biocomponents functioning as efficiently as possible but the external heat was proving itself quite a formidable opponent to his internal systems.

Unable to consume any chilled Thirium and unable to locate any nearby buildings with air conditioning to ease the strain on his systems Connor was greeted by yet another warning in his visual sensors.

**WARNING:**

**CORE TEMPERATURE - CRITICAL: 104 DEGREES**

Connor's L.E.D. fluctuated between yellow and red as it cycled rapidly in response to his systems trying to cool down before anything suffered permanent damage. Pausing where he stood beneath the small amount of offer shade under a tree Connor put his hand to his head as his systems began to fall gradually into low-power mode as an automatic safety precaution against his will.

Unwilling to move and risk his temperature getting any higher Connor stood in place and waited for his system to very slowly cool itself off, and hoped it happened before he suffered any internal damage.

Fortunately, Chris had been assigned patrol in the park as well, and was on his way to relieve Connor for the rest of the afternoon when he spotted the deviant android standing perfectly still by the tree.

"Hey Connor, you okay?" Chris asked as he approached his fellow officer curiously. Unlike Connor, who was still in his usual uniform of his gray Cyberlife jacket over a long sleeved white dress shirt, Chris was dressed in a short sleeved uniform shirt and wisely wore an athletic thermal muscle shirt beneath to ensure he stayed cool. He also had a bottle of cold water clipped to his belt so he could remain hydrated while on patrol. "Connor?" Chris put his hand on Connor's arm and shook him lightly. "Connor, you okay? It feels like the heat's getting to you, man."

Connor's eyes slowly focused on Chris as the deviant android fought to override his emergency low-power protocols to remain as functional as possible. "Chris. You're here to relieve me, yes?"

"Yeah. Are you okay, though?" Chris craned his neck and saw the crimson light blinking in Connor's right temple. "Your L.E.D. is red."

"...I am having difficulty coping with the intense heat, but once I'm inside and out of the direct sunlight I will be able to compensate properly."

"Are you sure?" The officer's keen eye noticed that Connor seemed physically unstable and weak. "You're actually shaking."

It was true. Connor's body was trembling as his systems began to strain from the high core temperature overwhelming him. His Thirium pump; his heart, was beating so hard and so quickly that it was causing his entire body to shake with each rapid beat.

"I assure you, I am-"

**WARNING:**

**CORE TEMPERATURE - CRITICAL: 106 DEGREES**

**WARNING:**

**CURRENT OBJECTIVE - TAKE COOLING MEASURES IMMEDIATELY**

**SHUTDOWN IMMINENT: 00:59:58**

"I-" Connor tried again but his system override against the low-power mode failed, and he collapsed backward right in front of Chris.

"Oh, shit!" Chris managed to get his hand under Connor's head just before he hit the ground and support him accordingly. "I gotcha' man."

Thinking quickly Chris took the cold water bottle from his belt and slowly poured it over Connor's forehead, and then over his chest to try to cool him off. The cold water was enough to cause Connor's eyes to snap open as the chilled liquid was absorbed into his hair, the fabric of his shirt and the unnecessary gray CyberLife jacket; though he was still running on low-power mode and subsequently too weak to move.

"Hey, I got you." Chris stated as he put his hand down on Connor's chest where he could feel the Thirium pump hammering away under his palm and began to worry a little. Chris had enough emergency medical training to know that unconsciousness and a rapid heartbeat were indicative of heat stroke. "I'll call for back-up to-"

Connor shook his head a little as he stared up at Chris who was kneeling over him. "I can... make it."

"Make it? To the car?"

Connor nodded his head slowly to confirm the question.

"I'll help you, but I don't think I can do much for you if you keep overheating."

"I..." Connor's voice was shaking and carried a disturbing electronic echo as he forced his voice modulator into function. "I understand."

"Okay, come on." Chris grabbed onto Connor's arm and hauled the deviant android up onto his feet, and waited for him to find his balance on his shaking legs. Taking Connor's arm around his own shoulders Chris helped the overheated deviant android walk to his patrol car parked along the street just a few yards away from where he had found the now downed officer. "I have more water in the trunk. Hopefully it can do you some good."

"Thank you... Chris."

"Don't thank me just yet." Chris stated he all but dragged Connor to the car. "You're still in danger."

Connor's systems were trying to switch off his non-vital functions, but doing so would leave Connor in a vulnerable state. Several of these functions, though non-vital, were still important: speech, scanner, auditory sensors, visual sensors and the ability to run self-diagnostics.

"Here we are." Chris pulled open the rear door of the squad car and lowered Connor to the seat. Pushing the deviant android backward so he was laying flat on his back Chris poured the last of his water over Connor's chest before moving to the front of the car to pull open the driver's side door. Putting the key in the ignition Chris turned the car on to get some cool air flowing. "I'll crank the A/C, and get you more water."

Connor wanted to say something, anything to Chris, but his Thirium pump was beating so hard that it was distracting and a little alarming.

Clutching his hand to his chest Connor began to breath quickly as he tried to force his heart rate to slow down. The additional sensors that had been slowly developing throughout Connor's entire body during his deviancy now made him uncomfortably aware of his own heartbeat, of his own breathing and the cold, wet fabric of his shirt clinging heavily to his artificial skin as he took in deep panting breaths.

It was almost too much to bear, but Connor refused to let his mind become clouded. Yet, no matter how much of the situation he accurately processed, his systems continued to rebel against him. His heart thundered faster, louder. Connor could hear it and it was making him breathing faster as a result. Unknowingly his right hand had reached up to his chest over his heart and began pulling at the cold, constricting fabric as he contemplated the idea of his Thirium pump burning itself out.

Chris had turned up the cold air as much as he could before popping the trunk of the car and retrieving two more bottles of cold water from a compartment tucked away next to an emergency first aid kit. As the trunk slammed shut Connor felt the car rock and his eyes want back to the opened door of the backseat as Chris reappeared in his line of vision.

"Connor? You still with me?"

The deviant android was breathing rapidly as if he couldn't catch his breath, and his brown eyes were wide with fear and his hand was grasped so tightly to his chest Chris expected to see blue blood oozing out from under his fingertips at any second.

"Easy, easy." Chris soothed as tucked one cold bottle of water under Connor's neck to try to get his full attention. "Look at me. You're going to be okay."

"C-Can't... breathe!"

"Yes you can." Chris immediately realized that Connor was beginning to suffer from a panic attack and not just the heat, and he reacted accordingly. "You're doing it right now, what you need to do is _slow_ your breathing down."

"I... I can't-"

"Hey, look at me. Watch me." Chris put his hand on his own chest and took in a deep breath before releasing it slowly. He repeated the action just as calmly and just as slowly for the deviant android to see. "Copy me, match your breathing with mine."

"I-"

"Connor. Breathe."

Shaking his head once as if he could somehow push away the numerous red warnings marring his vision Connor did as Chris instructed and took a slow, deep breath. Letting it out slowly Connor felt his Thirium pump finally beginning to slow down a little.

"That's it, keep going. You'll feel much better, trust me. Breathe."

As Connor matched his breathing with Chris's breathing his Thirium pump began to slow even further and it no longer felt like his heart was going to beat out of his chest. The warnings in his visual sensors began to disappear one by one with Connor having to manually dismiss them. Connor's core temperature also slowly, but surely began to lower to more a manageable level as well.

"Feel better?" Chris asked as he looked down at the deviant android as his breathing calmed and his hand relaxed its death grip over his chest.

"Y-Yes." Connor confirmed, his voice sounding much stronger than before. "Thank you. ...How did you know that would work?"

"My little sister used to get panic attacks when we were young. I would help her calm down and now I'm just kind of a pro at dealing with these things."

"Thanks... It really helped."

"No problem." Chris noted the time on his watch and made a quick decision. "I'm going to take you back home so you can cool off, okay?"

"But you can't leave your patrol."

"Yeah, but if it's for an emergency I think Captain Fowler will understand. Besides, you don't live that far away."

"You're certain you wish to risk incurring disciplinary measures against yourself on my behalf?"

"After the way you pulled Hank out that dark spiral of depression just by befriending him, and then changed the world for the better, I'm willing to take a bullet for you."

"Please don't." Connor insisted as the metaphor was lost on his frazzled mind. "I can confirm bullet wounds are very unpleasant."

"Yeah, sure." Chris couldn't help but laugh at the deviant android as he closed the door. "I'll get you back home in a few minutes, just hang tight, alright?"

"...I appreciate your help."

"No problem, man."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	4. Glitch

A brutal storm rocked the city with an impressive display of nature that shook the streets with deafening thunder and blinding lightning that illuminated the night sky. Hank and Connor had returned home after their shift and were now sitting on the couch watching the weather report on television, not that Connor needed to rely on the news for such information. Heavy rain bombarded the roof and strong winds rattled the windows of the house, while creating a haunting ambience of natural gusts that kept the two detectives on guard.

Sumo had wisely taken shelter under Hank's bed out of fear of the powerful storm, and had no intention of leaving until the storm had passed. It was a little amusing to see such a large dog cowering in fear under a narrow space, but neither detective disturbed him.

Power outages had been reported throughout the city as several powerlines had been downed by strong winds and fallen tree branches. It was too dangerous for electrical crews to repair the damage at the moment, and as a result the outages were expected to remain throughout the night. In seeming response to the surrounding blackouts the lights inside the house flickered as the storm bombarded the modest structure relentlessly.

"I'm going to get some candles." Hank decided as he made his way to the hallway closet after noting the flickering overhead lights. "You can see in the dark, kid, but I can't."

Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as his sensors indicated that several lightning strikes were dangerously close to the house and were beginning to cause electrical interference. Rising from his place on the couch he peered out through the front window by the door to watched the sky with a childlike intrigue. Unfortunately, before Connor could react to the danger a bolt of lightning struck the power transformer at the top of pole across the street causing it to explode in a cascade of sparks and fire with a deafening blast that shook the entire block and plunged the house into darkness.

"Holy shit!" Hank shouted as the explosion shook the house and cut out the power entirely leaving him lost in blackness. "What the fuck was that?!"

Connor backed away from the window and put his hand over his chest as the air filled with a heavy electrical charge that made his biocomponents fluctuate unexpectedly. "L-Lightning strike." The deviant android answered flatly as ran a self-diagnostic over his systems. His L.E.D. flashed yellow as he informed emergency responders to the scene of the explosion. "A transformer has been destroyed."

"I'll say..." With a burning candle to light his way Hank rejoined Connor in the livingroom and peered out the window for himself. A small fire atop the pole was being doused naturally by the rain itself which helped minimize the resulting damage. A rogue powerline sparked along the ground with a dangerously high voltage and amperage wildly showering the street like a slithering snake. "We're both staying inside, neither of us gets paid enough to handle damaged powerlines."

"I... agree." Connor suddenly winced as the electricity in the air built and a strange tightness in chest formed near his Thirium pump.

"You okay?" Hank noticed Connor's discomfort, his voice becoming less gruff and softening considerably at the sight of his partner in distress. "You look like you're in pain."

"I'm experiencing some... discomfort in my chest." Connor's hand gripped at the front of his black t-shirt with a desperate grasp as he felt his Thirium pump suddenly start to beat faster than normal. It was alarming and becoming frightening. "My... My heart is racing."

"You didn't get hit by lightning, too, did ya'?" Hank asked he set the candle down on the coffee table between the couch and television before he put his hands on Connor's shoulders. "You seem like a perfect lightning rod to be honest."

"No. I am... undamaged, but-" His eyes clenched shut and he let out a gasping wheeze between his gritted teeth as lightning illuminated the sky with a bone shattering crash of thunder. Nearly falling to his knees Connor was kept upright only by Hank's firm grip. "...Something is... wrong!"

"Shit, what's going on with you?" Hank tried to guide Connor back toward the couch but the deviant android wouldn't budge. "Talk to me."

Seconds before he could utter a single response Connor let out sharp gasp of pain as he felt his Thirium pump begin beating faster and faster with a painful force. Hank could feel the intensity of Connor's heart beating just by having his hands on the deviant android's shoulders as the rapid motion made Connor's entire body tremble. Worried that there was something horribly wrong with the deviant android Hank put his arm around Connor's upper back and his other under the Connor's legs to pick him up and carry him over to the nearby couch.

"Connor, look at me." Hank ordered as he laid Connor down over the length of the furniture on his back, and put his hand down in the center of Connor's chest. He tried to measure the deviant android's rapid pulse but his heart was beating too fast for the human count. "Fuck."

Lightning filled the sky once more and gave Hank a clear view of Connor's pained face as the accompanying thunder drowned out the rain pounding against the roof with a violent cascade of nature.

"H-Hank..." Connor's eyes were shut so tight tears were beginning to stream down his face as he put both hands over his thundering heart and his L.E.D. cycled quickly in red. "It hurts!"

"Tell me what's happening, then I can help you."

"M-My Thirium pump... It's been... O-Overstimulated."

"From what? The storm?"

Connor nodded once as he took in a gasping breath as if he could somehow slow his heart then he could control his breathing. It's worked before, but there was no guarantee it'd work now.

"What did it? The lightning or the explosion?"

"B-Both... The air h-has been... el-electrically charged!"

"What the fuck can I do about the air?!"

"N-Nothing... Glitch in m-my... software."

"I can do even less about a glitch, kid." Hank watched in horror as Connor began to breath even harder and his heart raced even faster under his palm. "Jeez, you look like you're having a heart attack!"

"C-Correct."

"I'm _WHAT_?!"

"My..." Connor couldn't even finish his sentence as his systems were forced into a low-power mode that ceased his conscious functions "...heart." Letting out a weak pant Connor's body relaxed and went limp before Hank's eyes.

"Connor?" Hank put his hand to the side of Connor's face and tilted his head slightly to the left to look at the L.E.D. in Connor's right temple. It was still illuminated but it was pulsing much slower, almost back down to its standard rate of cycling speed. "Kid? Wake up."

Tentatively Hank put his hand back down over Connor's chest and could feel the deviant android's pump stutter a few times before suddenly stopping. As his heart stopped his L.E.D. went suddenly blank and Hank noticed immediately.

"Shit! Connor!"

Hank went to place one hand over top the other and interlace his fingers together to begin chest compressions before he realized the cause of Connor's sudden Thirial arrest was from the storm and not from trauma to his biocomponent or anything else. If his pump just stopped then maybe it could just start up again with a strong enough jolt.

"Sorry about this, kid."

Reeling back one fist high above his head he brought his fist down directly over the center of Connor's chest causing his pump to violently contract once and shortly thereafter his pump relaxed and then contracted again as his heart began to beat on its own again.

"Connor?" Lightly he placed his palm flat over Connor's chest was relieved to feel that his Thirium pump was active again, which meant his heart was now beating. The racing pump was beginning to calm its frantic pacing and eased into a steady rhythm. "Thank fuck. It worked..."

Sirens and flashing lights of red and blue outside the house drew Hank's attention to the window where he saw a fire engine and a squad car pulled up in order to tend to the downed powerline. The temptation to wave over one of the first responders was nearly irresistible, but Hank decided he'd wait to see if Connor began to respond on his own before pulling any rescue personnel from the more important task of getting the powerline under control.

Pressing his hand down firmer against Connor's chest Hank tried again to count his pulse and was happy to estimate his pulse at ninety-six, compared to its previously incalculable rate.

"Alright... That's better."

Curious about whether or not Connor could even hear him or understand what he was saying Hank carefully lifted Connor's right eyelid with his thumb and looked down at the brown iris beneath. "Connor? Can you hear me?"

Connor's eye moved slightly to look at Hank. His other left eyelid opened slowly and his mouth parted a little as if he was trying to speak.

"Good, you're still with me. Are you going to be okay?"

"Y-Yes."

"What the hell was that about?"

"S-Software glitch." Connor's L.E.D. cycled from red to yellow as he spoke and his system recalibrated accordingly. "The close proximity to the lightning began affecting my system, interfering with my programming." His hands dropped from his chest and his breathing eased as the yellow L.E.D. finally turned blue. "The solution was to fall into low-power mode which caused my system to recalibrate and reverse the effects of the inference. It appears my power level dropped too low."

"...Yeah. Sorry about punching you in the chest."

"It's alright. Your method was effective and I did not sustain any damage to my plastimetal chassis over my chest, and my Thirium pump is responding correctly."

"Earlier when I said 'heart attack'," Hank questioned with an arched brow. "you said I was right." He sat down on the arm of the couch and stared down at Connor with a fatherly concern. "How was I right?"

"Heart attacks in humans can be caused by illness, trauma and spontaneous electrical discharge." Connor tried to sit up but Hank reached out his hand and pressed it to the deviant android's torso to keep Connor laying flat on his back. "I apologize if I frightened you."

"_Frightened_ me? You scared the shit out of me!"

"I'm sorry. It was a glitch that I hadn't anticipated."

"Yeah, I don't think anyone anticipates glitches, kid." Hank sighed a little as he felt his own heart beginning to pound in his chest. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. My system has successfully recalibrated and my Thirium pump has returned to its normal rhythm. I'm not in any danger." He tilted his head a little as he gauged the concern on Hank's face. "Or _pain_. I promise. I'm no longer in danger and can rest without needing to be monitored."

"Okay, then." Hank looked through the window again at the flashing lights along the street. "Looks like things are getting under control and the storm is starting to pass. Get some sleep, hopefully we'll have the power back by tomorrow morning."

Connor draped his arm back over his chest as he felt his heart beating at a proper rhythm and speed. "Goodnight, Hank."

"Yeah, goodnight, son."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	5. Virus

Connor was hunched over his desk with his soulful brown eyes staring at his terminal screen though they remained unfocused and glassy as he tried and failed to read through the files presented to him. Feeling unusually tired, uncomfortably warm and wincing at a persistent dull ache in his artificial stomach Connor found himself far too distracted to function properly. Performing a self-diagnostic from where he sat Connor closed his eyes and patiently waited for the program to finish its run, but the results came back inconclusive.

With his L.E.D. slowly cycling yellow in color rather than its healthier blue Connor knew it was only a matter of time before Hank, or anyone else for that matter, noticed that the deviant android wasn't quite himself. Connor stood up from his seat and immediately braced himself upright against his desk as he suddenly felt very dizzy and swayed awkwardly on his feet.

Hank, sitting at his own desk at the opposite side of Connor's desk, watched with a furrowed brow as the deviant android discreetly regained his balance and stared at his own legs as if trying to understand why he was suddenly graceless in his motions.

"Something wrong?" Hank asked casually and in a low tone of voice as to not draw unwanted attention from the rest of the bullpen.

"I am... unsure." Connor straightened his posture and put his hand to the side of his head as if in pain. A weak cough erupted from his lips as he cleared his throat and took a deep breath to keep his ventilation biocomponents functioning properly. As the reaction caught Connor off guard his face blushed a pale blue to acknowledge his needless embarrassment "...That was unexpected, I apologize."

"Did you seriously just_ cough_? That seems pretty weird for an android."

"Coughing for androids can be-" Another cough stole his voice and made him wince a little in response.

"Now I know something's up. Did you run your self check program thingy?"

"Yes, however my self-diagnostic program was inconclusive. I believe I should see the precinct technician and have a second scan performed. My systems are currently operating at unusual levels."

"Want me to go with you? You sound pretty rough."

"No," Connor stated somewhat confidently as he turned to walk away from his desk and to the elevator down the corridor. He subtly moved his hand from the side of his head and over his artificial stomach as he walked. "I will manage alone just fine, thank you for you concern."

"Alright. Whatever you say, kid."

Using his hand along the wall to guide himself as he walked Connor made his way slowly, clumsily to the elevator and pressed the call button on the electronic panel. It didn't take long for the doors to open and for the deviant android to step inside as the lone occupant of the lift. As soon as he was out of sight of his fellow officers, especially Hank, the unstable deviant android leaned his back against the corner of the elevator car and slipped to the floor as dizziness overwhelmed him, and the ache in his artificial stomach increased to a new level of discomfort he couldn't describe.

Managing to gain enough control over his senses to cybernetically select the correct floor Connor sat as still as possible as the elevator ascended quickly and stifled another weak cough. The sudden motion of the elevator moving and then stopping made both Connor's head and stomach turn. Fighting the urge to slip into rest mode Connor pulled himself back up to his feet and prepared to exit the elevator as soon as the doors slid open.

Fortunately for Connor no one else was around when he stepped out of the elevator and onto the designated second floor of the precinct. Continuing to use his hand along the wall to guide himself down the corridor Connor located the dispensary, the android equivalent to an infirmary, where the lone technician was currently filing paperwork for the evening at his own terminal.

Knocking on the opened door twice Connor stumbled into the dispensary and stood as idle as possible as he addressed the technician from afar. "Joel, do you have a moment to spare?"

"Connor, is there something wrong?" Joel asked as he stopped typing and walked over to meet the deviant android in the doorway of the room. The first thing Joel noted was Connor's L.E.D. flashing yellow instead of blue, then noticed that Connor's eyes seemed glazed over and distant. "Feeling unwell?"

"I'm experiencing unusual activity in my system that my self-diagnostic program can't properly identify. I was hoping you could identify and possibly correct the problem."

"Why don't you lay down?" Joel stated casually as he watched Connor's reactions carefully. "I'll see what I can do for you."

Connor turned his head to look at the vacant exam table against the wall in the middle of the room and felt his head swim as another dizzy spell suddenly washed over him.

"Dizzy?" Joel inquired knowingly as he gauged Connor's behavior closely.

"Yes. I have periodically suffered from bouts of unexplained syncope." Connor admitted with a weak cough as he slowly made his way over to the table and proceeded to lay down flat on his back just as slowly as he walked. Laying flat helped end the dizziness but he still felt terrible. "I am also experiencing a sporadic cough."

"Is your gyroscope malfunctioning?" Keenly observing Connor's discomfort as he followed after the deviant android Joel began putting together the pieces of the puzzle as he stood beside the exam table. "Does it need to be recalibrated?"

"I do not know."

"Alright, let's take a look." Joel peeled back Connor's gray suit jacket as he very gently placed his hand flat over Connor's lower abdomen. The light touch was enough to cause Connor to visibly flinch as Joel had already located the point of physical discomfort that Connor had been suffering in silence. "Does that hurt?"

"...Yes."

"Well, I can already feel that your system is slightly overheated, and based on your reaction I believe it's safe to say your gyroscope is in fact malfunctioning."

"Do you know the cause?" Connor watched as Joel wheeled a metal cart over to the exam table and began sifting through the various pieces of equipment used exclusively to examine android physiology.

"I have an idea." The astute technician admitted as he took a flexible plastimetal band and wrapped it around Connor's wrist.

The band was a wearable external thermometer that gave the technician realtime accuracy of Connor's core temperature without having to be invasive. The device showed a digital display of Connor's core temperature and as expected it was slightly elevated up to one-hundred and one point four degrees Fahrenheit; which in a human would be considered a fever.

As the device served its purpose Joel made a mental note of the reading. "You're not the first android I've seen today exhibiting these particular symptoms. Actually, you're the _second_ today, and the fourth this week."

"Other androids in the precinct are malfunctioning?" Another weak cough briefly interrupted Connor's train of thought. "Is it the result of a virus affecting our software?"

"Something like that." Unbuttoning Connor's shirt over his abdomen Joel placed a wedge shaped plastimetal gauge down against his abdomen, which in turn caused Connor flinch and jump a little. "Sorry." Joel held up the electronic screen connected to the gauge as he used it to examine Connor's gyroscope. The wedge created a type of sonar wave that allowed the technician to see the gyroscope's exact position in his abdomen as well as the rate in which it was functioning. "Well, your gyroscope itself isn't damaged but it is in need of recalibrations. It's currently being affected by your overheating core."

"Why am I-" Connor coughed again and put his hand over his mouth as he had seen humans do out of politeness and to stop the spread of their germs. Germs weren't an issue for Connor, but manners were. "...Why am I overheating?"

"I don't like the way that cough sounds."

"It hasn't affected my ventilation biocomponents."

"_Yet_." Joel cautioned as he made a move for his audioscope on the nearby table of instruments. "I'm going to listen to your chest to check on that cough. Be silent for a moment, please."

Lightly the technician moved Connor's tie to the right as he slipped the ear buds of his audioscope into place to listen to the deviant's breathing. Placing the bell down on the central left portion of Connor's chest Joel listened to the sound of Connor's Thirium pump; his heart, and ventilation biocomponents, his lungs, and carefully as he ran the bell from left to right and back again.

"Your Thirium pump is functioning normally, but there is audible faltering in your ventilation biocomponents."

"...Is it serious?"

"Any anomaly can be serious," removing the audioscope from his ears Joel noted Connor's temperature rising slightly to one-hundred and one point eight degrees. "but in this case I don't think it's anything _dangerous_."

"Do you know what's wrong with me, as well as the other affected deviants?"

"Yes. It is in fact the result of a software virus: it's called 'Groupware Blight v1." Crossing his arms Joel gave the deviant android a somewhat bemused smirk as he gave his diagnosis. "You, my friend, are suffering from a condition known as gyroscopic impairment, complicated by mild ventilation profusion and an enervated thermal regulator; more commonly known as the 'android-flu'."

"The... _flu_?" Connor's brow furrowed with utmost confusion, and his L.E.D. briefly flashed red before returning to yellow. "Influenza is a _human_ ailment."

"Right, that's why I said you have the _android_-flu, not just _the_ flu."

"Oh." Covering his mouth again Connor caught another cough and cleared his throat. "What causes it?"

"Well, during the colder season android biocomponents and Thirium lines become affected by the drastic change in temperature." Joel motioned to the window over his shoulder where the dark gray cloudy sky threatened to unleash another late season snowstorm at any moment. "And when the change is very abrupt or inconsistent rather than gradual the thermal regulator becomes exhausted while attempting to compensate for the rapid fluctuations. Anatomically your thermal regulator is right next to your gyroscope and artificial stomach, and being overburdened by wild temperature fluctuations had in turn affected your gyroscope as the regulator itself began to overheat. That's why you have pain in your stomach."

"And the cough?"

"Your ventilation biocomponents have been attempting to compensate for the overexerted thermal regulator, and they are collecting an influx of excessive Thirium as your system tries to boost the power to the biocomponents as you heal."

Connor put a hand to his head as if the very admission to being ill somehow made him feel even worse. "...How did I get this?"

"Like humans do." Joel reiterated with a devilish smirk. "You came into contact with another android whose software had been affected by the abnormal biocomponent reactions. Your system attempted to register the activity of the affected android's system, and attempted to synchronize your programing with theirs for easy cybernetic communication. Unfortunately, that meant your system became infected with their system abnormality as a result."

"What can I do to rid it of my system?" The confirmed ill deviant android asked rather somberly as Joel walked over to a refrigerated storage cabinet in the corner of his office. Connor put his hand over his mouth to catch another weak cough out of some unspoken courtesy to the technician as he awaited a reply. "I can't work like this."

"Well, like humans afflicted with this illness you need to rest." Returning to the exam table with a large transparent plastic bottle of bright green liquid Joel handed it to Connor to take for himself. "And you need to drink this over the course of the next three days. One tablespoon every six hours."

"What is it?" Connor attempted to scan the contents of the bottle but his system was too compromised by his condition to perform the necessary scan properly. The effort also made his head hurt from the effort. "...I cannot properly identify it with my scanner."

"It's a type of coolant that'll mix with your Thirium and aid your thermal regulator in keeping your system from overheating. This is all necessary while your regulator itself heals. Trust me, it'll make your recovery go a lot faster if you drink this."

"This is... medicine?"

"Essentially, yes." Joel reclaimed the bottle for a moment and opened the lid before handing it back to Connor. "And I want you to take your first dose here, where I can see it."

"See it?"

"I want to make sure you don't have a negative reaction."

"...That is a wise precaution."

Connor sat upright on the table with moderate difficulty as his abdomen was still sore from his overheated regulator and upset stomach. Joel's hand was pressed against his upper back to support the deviant android as he moved and took the offered bottle once again. Connor easily estimated the proper dose and drank it, but the taste was something so unexpectedly vile that Connor had to resist spitting it back out all over the floor.

"Sorry about that." Joel laughed a little as put the lid back on the bottle for Connor. The technician saw that Connor was almost curling around himself as if he were trying to resist a terrible ache emanating from the deepest pit of his core. "Are you going to be okay?"

"...It hurts my stomach."

"Uncommon side effect, but it'll pass. It's also not a_ serious_ side effect just so you know."

"...I don't like it."

"It may taste horrendous but it does wonders. Without it you'd take anywhere from seven to ten days to recover. This will ensure you recover in three or four days. Take your pick;" he tempted with a sarcastic tone. "but do you really want to be sick for a longer period of time and unable to work?"

Shaking his head slightly Connor kept his hand on the bottle and accepted the former option. "I find the shorter recovery period to be preferable."

"Everyone does. Now," Joel pointed to the thermometer still wrapped around Connor's wrist. "keep that in place and go home. Be as still as possible and continue your normal rest cycle. If you spend too much time in rest mode it can disrupt your software's daily routine and you'll feel even worse before you have the chance to get better."

"I see." Straightening back up Connor replaced the buttons on his shirt and sighed, before replacing his tie. "My shift is over in three hours."

"Nope. Your shift is over _now_, I'm sending a memo to Captain Fowler explaining that you're benched for four days."

"You said that I could recover in three days."

"Yeah, but there's no guarantee. Besides the extra day can give your systems more time to fully recover."

Connor carefully slid off the table and planted his feet on the floor as he kept one hand on the table for balance as he took the bottle of foul tasting medicine from Joel's hand to keep. "...Thank you, Joel."

"No problem. Go home, take it easy, keep that stuff refrigerated and drink one tablespoon every six hours. And then don't come back for four days. Seriously, Connor. You may be an android but that doesn't make you impervious to illness or injury."

Reluctantly Connor did as he was instructed and made his way back down to the ground floor to clock out for the evening. Clutching his hand around the bottle of 'medicine' Connor returned to the elevator and did his best to keep from falling over as another dizzy spell hit him and his stomach continued to ache with a strange tingling sensation.

"...Damn gyroscope." Connor grumbled to himself as the faulty biocomponent continued to affect his systems and make his already upset stomach feel worse.

Exiting the elevator and walking back down the corridor Connor noticed Hank casually sitting atop his desk with his arms crossed over his chest as if he had been waiting for him the entire time. The senior detective had a curious look in his eyes but didn't say anything until Connor approached him. "Find anything wrong, kid?"

"I... I have the flu." Connor admitted with a low voice as he showed Hank the green liquid in the bottle. "An _android_-flu. I have been sidelined for the next four days. ...Can you drive me home so I can rest?"

"Wow, you _must_ be sick. You're not trying to find some weird loophole to finish your shift, or trying to convince Fowler you'll be okay."

"Did... Did you know that I was ill?"

"Fowler called me into his office a minute ago after Joel sent the message about your condition." Shrugging dismissively Hank continued on. "I just wanted to see what you'd do."

"I don't want to do anything." Connor was sounding more and more pathetic as he spoke. "...I just want to go home."

"Alright, kid." Hank showed the cars keys already in his hand to the sick deviant android he slid off the desk and motioned toward the front doors of the precinct. "Let's get you home."

Putting his hand on Connor's shoulder Hank helped guide the dizzy, tired deviant android away from the desks and through reception.

From his own desk Gavin had noticed that Connor and Hank were leaving, and more importantly he noticed that something was wrong with Connor and couldn't stop himself from shouting an unprovoked taunt at the deviant android's expense. "What happened to the toy-soldier? Crack under the pressure of pretending to be human?"

"Fuck off, Gavin." Hank yelled without missing a beat as he and Connor passed through the front doors of the precinct together. "Arrogant prick..."

Connor didn't react or respond to Gavin's insult in the slightest. Sluggishly he walked with Hank beside him and let the senior detective guide him to the neighboring parking garage to get to the car and get home at long last.

"Hey? You still with me?"

"...Where else would I be, Lieutenant?"

"I don't know if that was you being painfully honest, or a smartass." Hank noted as he unlocked the car doors and watched Connor pull open the front passenger door with a shaking hand. "Sit down and take it easy. You look terrible."

"...I look as I always do."

"Nah, you're looking pretty sick." The senior detective noted as he sat down behind the wheel and watched Connor slowly sit down in the passenger seat beside him. "You're not pale but your eyes are glazed over and you're walking like you have a ten-ton weight on your shoulders."

"Such a weight would be impossible to bear."

"Connor, shut up and don't puke on the floorboards." Turning over the engine Hank quickly reached out his hand and put his palm over Connor's forehead as an instinct paternal reaction to check for a fever. "You're warm."

"I am in fact overheating, yes."

"Need me to turn off the heater?"

"...No. You don't need to suffer discomfort on my account."

"Fuck, you act like me enduring a slight chill in the air is the same as a human sacrifice." Pulling the car out of the parking garage and onto the street Hank watched Connor from the corner of his eye as the deviant android closed his eyes, crossed his arms over his chest and remained perfectly still and quiet where he sat. "Just hang on for a few more minutes and I'll get you back to the house. You can pass out on the couch and spoil Sumo rotten."

The comment went without a response as the ill deviant android remained silent.

"Yup. You're sick."

Turning the block Hank idled at a red light and noticed that Connor lifted up his head seemed to be pressing his hand firmly to the middle of his stomach.

"You okay?"

"...I may end up puking on your floor mats. I'm sorry."

"Nope!"

Throwing the car into park Hank opened his door, waved off the angry driver's honking their horns behind him, and proceeded to walk around the other side of the car to open up the passenger side door. Grabbing onto Connor's arm Hank hauled the sick deviant android over to the nearby alleyway just as Connor's artificial stomach betrayed him. As a torrent of blueish green liquid escaped Connor's mouth Hank put one hand to the deviant android's forehead and his other hand against his back to try to support him.

Coughing a few more times Connor spit the foulness from his mouth and just stood in a stooped over position over his own puddle vomit.

"Shit. I don't think that green stuff will evaporate like Thirium."

"...Unknown."

"Thanks for the warning, kid. Are you going to be okay long enough to make it back to the house?"

Connor stood upright a little, his hand protectively pressed to his stomach as he gauged the sensitivity of his artificial stomach in the process. "...I think so."

"Come on." Patting Connor's shoulder Hank guided the ill deviant android back to the car and helped him to sit down in the passenger seat again. After watching Connor fumble with the seatbelt Hank pulled his badge from his pocket to flash to the still honking cars and warned them to shut up before returning to his seat behind the wheel. "We're almost there, kid. Just a little longer."

Once home Hank practically escorted Connor from the drive beside the house, through the front door over to the couch. The senior detective made the deviant android remove his shoes, tie, his jacket, white dress shirt beneath and his jeans and gave Connor a thin black t-shirt and gray sweatpants to wear while he was ill instead. Hank insisted that it would make Connor feel more comfortable and the deviant android was willing to cooperate in the hopes he would soon feel better.

As Hank found the deviant android a thick pillow to rest his head against he also tossed an old navy blue blanket down at the the deviant android's feet where he was laying. "Just in case you feel cold."

Sumo sat beside the couch with his chin resting on Connor's arm as the affectionate dog kept vigil over his favorite android. The loyal and friendly Saint Bernard was very attuned to Connor's behavior and mannerisms just as he was with Hank.

Connor appeared more human than ever as he laid on his back, sick and miserable. After a few hours of listening to Connor weakly cough and watching the deviant android laying still in silent discomfort Hank acted on his long repressed fatherly instinct and set out trying make Connor feel better.

"You don't have to do this, Hank." Connor stated tiredly as the senior detective pulled the thick blue blanket up over his legs. His glassy brown eyes watched Hank walking around the couch almost hypnotically as he moved. "I don't require any special treatment."

"You do when you're sick." Hank argued as he pressed the back of his hand against Connor's forehead to check his temperature again. "Android-flu gives you an android-fever, too. What's your temperature?"

Connor lifted his arm up from under Sumo's chin to look at the thermometer still wrapped around his wrist. "My core temperature is at one hundred and two point one degrees Fahrenheit. Also, I'm overheating, not feverish."

"It's higher than before, right?"

"...Yes. But I'm still coherent and-."

"Yeah, and I'm still lucid. You're sick and you're being stubborn, Connor." Stepping away from the couch Hank entered to the kitchen to gather a few things for the stubborn deviant android's recovery. "Since you can't sweat to cool off I'm getting you some ice. I don't want your brain to melt." As Hank pulled a thin ice bag from the freezer he opened the fridge and picked up the bottle of green liquid medication and read the label on its side. "You need this stuff every six hours, right?"

Connor outwardly grimaced at the notion of having to taste that repugnant medicine again but answered honestly all the same. "...Correct."

Hank returned to the couch and pressed the provided ice bag against Connor's forehead gently and offered the bottle of medicine to the sick deviant android to drink. "Here." He then placed an empty mop bucket down on the floor beside the couch in the event Connor threw-up again after taking the medicine. "Just in case, you know."

"It's possible that I can recover without the aid of that medication." Connor quickly stated as he refused to take the offered bottle and watched the reaction on Hank's face. "It would just take a day or two longer to fully recover."

"Uh-huh, and why would you willingly let yourself be sick for longer?" The senior detective and father knew that Connor was trying to avoid something. He was going to figure it out fairly quickly, even if Connor thought he could outsmart him. "This is weird. Especially since you're a textbook 'workaholic'."

Connor tried to feign innocence but failed as his eyes fell to the bottle of medicine in Hank's hand and gave away his true intention. "I'd just prefer to allow my systems to heal without secondary assistance."

"Bullshit." Hank pointed an accusing but non-aggressive finger at the sick deviant android. "You just don't like the way this stuff tastes. I can see it in your eyes, kid."

"I don't have any taste preference-"

"Then drink it." Hank impatiently pushed the bottle closer to Connor's face, but the deviant android turned his face away with a thick grimace. "I knew it. You're as bad as a little kid, you know that?"

"...It hurts my stomach, Hank." Connor confessed as he closed his eyes and let out a sigh as he coughed a few times. "And I don't like being in pain."

"No one does, Connor." That last comment struck a chord with Hank and it softened his voice. "You need it, son. You're going to get a whole lot worse before you get better if you don't drink this stuff."

Connor opened his eyes again and stared at the questionable liquid Hank's hand.

"Think of it this way, the sooner you're better the sooner you won't have to drink this stuff anymore." Hank opened the lid of the bottle and curiously smelled the contents within. "Jeez, this shit smells like pure antifreeze! No wonder you can't stand the taste."

Slowly Connor reached a shaking hand up to the bottle and took it from Hank's outstretched hand with a reluctant grip. Closing his eyes Connor took his next dose of medicine and forced himself to swallow the potent liquid, and again resisted every urge to spit it out. Connor almost immediately tightened an arm around his abdomen as the vile medication had a massively negative effect on his artificial stomach.

"That bad, huh?" Hank almost laughed as he took the bottle back from Connor and replaced the lid for him.

"...Awful." Connor sighed pathetically as he sank down against the thick pillow as much as possible, his arm slowly letting go of his stomach as he relaxed a little. "...I can still taste it."

"Sorry. I don't know how to help you cope with a bad taste."

"It's okay, Hank. It's not your fault."

"Hey, you'll pull through this and be back to normal in a few days. Just be patient."

"I know. I'll try." The exhausted deviant android looked at Hank through partially opened eyelids. "I'd like to repay you for your kindness, Hank."

"Don't worry about it, that's what friends do." The senior detective shrugged his shoulders casually as returned the medication to the fridge in the kitchen for proper storage. "Besides, in the next few months when I end up being sick with the flu, and I do every fuckin' year, you can make sure I take whatever nasty medication the doctor prescribes me. Deal?"

Connor coughed weakly as he closed his eyes and tried to ignore the lingering foul taste in his mouth as he initiated a light rest mode.

"Do you need anything else? More ice? Another pillow?" Hank patted the side of the couch as he returned to the livingroom to lure Sumo into resting his head down next to Connor's arm again to try to comfort the ill deviant android.

The cuddly Saint Bernard happily obliged and put his chin back down on Connor's arm and yawned sleepily as he prepared to nap along with Connor.

"I'd just like to be left alone for now. Please."

"Sure, no problem." Hank took his leave and turned off the lights in the livingroom and kitchen in the process before he walked down the hallway to go take a refreshing shower. "Feel better soon, son."

* * *

As if on autopilot Hank consistently checked on Connor's fever just like he used to do whenever Cole had gotten sick. Using the thermal wrap on Connor's wrist as a guide, as well as his own hand lightly pressing down against the deviant android's forehead, Hank kept tabs on his temperature and only disturbed him whenever he needed to take his medicine.

"Connor?"

The deviant android's brown eyes opened slowly and his L.E.D. blinked from sickly yellow to blue briefly as he recognized Hank's voice, but soon settled back to yellow.

"Medicine."

"...Already?"

"You were asleep for six hours, so yeah." Holding out the bottle of medicine for Connor to take Hank sat down on the coffee table next to the couch. "Already."

Lifting his head a little Connor was pleased to discover that no dizzy spell accompanied him as he moved, and saw that according the thermal wrap on his wrist his temperature was starting to slowly drop. "I believe I'm beginning to recover."

"Good. But you still have to drink this shit."

"...I'm aware."

"Sorry, kid. Maybe you can convince Joel to make it taste differently in case you get sick again in the future."

Connor didn't say anything as he took a third dose of the medicine and closed his eyes as the loathsome taste filled his mouth. Forcing himself to swallow the vile substance Connor shook his head a little as he handed the medicine back to Hank. "I don't know what a preferable taste to this could be."

"I'm no expert, but I think anything _but_ antifreeze would be preferable."

"...You may be correct. I really wouldn't know."

"Now, stay awake."

"But I am tired."

"Hey, I read that memo that Joel sent to Fowler and it said for you to NOT go against your normal rest mode cycles. I let you sleep because you were exhausted, but now that you're getting better I want you to stay awake for me."

"What am I to do if I cannot sleep? I am not cleared to work and my processors won't allow me to cybernetically work on cases."

"Holy shit, kid, no wonder you got sick! Look, just do what humans do when they get sick, alright?" Standing up from the coffee table Hank pet Sumo's head as he walked over to the neighboring recliner and sat down heavily. "No more thinking about work or cases. Don't think about anything."

"What should I do then?"

"Read a book or watch a movie. That's what I usually do when I'm sick."

"A movie?" Connor asked somewhat confusedly as he slowly sat upright on the couch and turned so his legs were hanging off the edge of the furniture to rest his feet firmly on the floor like normal. Sumo proceeded to rest his chin over Connor's lap and wagged his tail when Connor placed his hand atop Sumo's head as a result, and began to rub his ears gently. "Do you have a recommendation?"

"Yeah, I got one." Using the television remote Hank turned on the television and scoured through his list of digitally downloaded movies and selected a favorite that he was sure would hold Connor's attention: A detective movie from the 1980's called '_The Untouchables_'. "This is one of my favorites. You'll love it, too, kid."

"Why's that?"

"It's about detectives and history. Granted some of the history gets exaggerated or omitted, but that doesn't stop it from being a damn good story."

**_-next chapter-  
_**


	6. Panicking

A late spring snowstorm had covered the entire city under a massive layer of pure, icy whiteness that kept most of the denizens indoors where it was warm, and helped keep the harsh wind at bay. Due to the extreme drop in temperature the cases involving androids had dropped considerably courtesy of the intense cold, potentially causing damage to android biocomponents or freezing over internal Thirium lines, which of course kept androids inside buildings just like the humans.

Hank and Connor had been sent home from the precinct early due to the bad weather and the lack of deviant cases, and now the duo found themselves bored after being cooped all afternoon with the dangerous weather keeping them trapped inside.

"When I was a kid," Hank stated as he looked at the massive snowflakes blowing by in the powerful gusts of wind through the front window of the house. "I dreamt of snowstorms like this just so I wouldn't have to go to school. Now as an adult I dream of winters where the snow misses us entirely so I don't have to look at the aftermath of people getting sick, or hurt or dealing with... car accidents."

Connor sat quietly on the couch with Sumo laying over his lap, the massive dog keeping the deviant android completely still and unable to move. "My scanner indicates that the storm should pass by noon tomorrow." The change in subject was sorely needed as he knew Hank was thinking about Cole again. "The cold spell will pass by in seventy-two hours allowing the temperature to rise from twenty-eight degrees to sixty-three degrees."

"Three days? Not soon enough." Hank lamented as he sat down in the recliner and stared with disinterest at the television screen showing yet another report on the chaotic weather outside. "What about you, Connor?" He asked in a strangely curious tone. "What do you dream about? Electric sheep perhaps?"

"Dreams? Androids don't dream, Lieu- Hank." Connor explained casually as he ran his hand down Sumo's back. "When in rest mode our programs become dormant and recorded memories will briefly replay as our systems process all of the recorded data for that day. That's all."

"So, even after you become deviant, even after you gain freewill and can think for yourselves, you still have the same routine as any machine?"

"Corr-" Connor stopped short as his L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow for a moment before returning to blue. "For a majority of the time, yes."

"_Majority_ of the time? Sounds like a 'no' to me, son."

"I do not... I don't quite understand the concept of dreams, yet." His brow furrowed a little as he tried to explain things to the seasoned detective. "Shortly, after I became deviant I found myself witnessing unusual images and sounds while in rest mode, but they weren't recorded memories replaying, they were... different."

"See? You _do_ dream." Hank pointed smugly at the deviant android from where he sat. "Do you remember what you dream about?"

"I..." Connor wanted to avoid the question until he had more information on the concept of dreams. He wanted to understand dreams in general before he wanted to even speak of them. Absentmindedly he began to pet Sumo's ears instead of his back and sighed. "I wish I could explain what I had seen, but I'm still unable to fully comprehend these unexpected images. They can be quite vivid and intense."

"Yeah, sure." Hank could sense that something was bothering Connor and decided to change the subject to avoid accidentally upsetting the deviant android. "How much you wanna' bet that when we get back to the precinct tomorrow we're going to have to deal with Gavin bitchin' about us getting the day off, and him having to keeping working during the storm?"

Connor smirked a little at the question and he visibly relaxed on the couch. "If there's one thing I've learned since I've known you it's NOT wise to take any bets against you."

"Good policy."

The lights in the house began to flicker and dim momentarily as the intense storm threatened to knock out the power. Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as he looked about the house and watched the lights temporarily dull and return to standard illumination.

Hank in turn grumbled as he walked over to the nearby closet in the middle of the hallway. "Shit. I better light some candles in case we lose power."

"Do you have an emergency generator?" Connor asked as he stopped petting Sumo for a moment.

"Nope. No room in the garage to store one."

After pushing aside a couple of long forgotten board games Hank found two old candles and a lighter sitting on the top shelf of the closet, and grabbed them with both hands. Lighting the two candles he sat one on the coffee table next to the couch for Connor to use, and kept the other for himself.

"I'm going to bed. You should get some rest, too. I get the feeling we're going to be busy tomorrow with the aftermath of this storm."

"Very well. Good night, Lieutenant."

"Stop calling me 'Lieutenant' when we're off the clock." Hank muttered as he walked down the hallway with the glowing candle in his hand. "It sounds weird."

"Sorry, I'm attempting to make it a habit." Connor apologized to Hank as he gently pushed Sumo aside so that he could lay flat on his back across the length of the couch. Sumo let out a sad whimper in response as Connor moved him away with both hands. "Sorry." He apologized again, this time to the dog. "You take up too much room."

Sumo grumbled as he laid down beside Connor and pressed his back up against the deviant android's side.

"Good boy."

The sound of the howling wind outside the house created a loud commotion that made it difficult for Hank to fall asleep. Pulling the blanket up over his head to block out the flame of the candle burning on the nightstand beside his bed, and pressing the edges of the pillow against his ears Hank closed his eyes and steadily drifted off to sleep. It was near dawn and the storm was still raging relentlessly when Hank was startled awake by a voice suddenly shouting out with a strange panic.

"HANK?!"

Hank sat upright in his bed in a quick bolt of motion and stared confusedly at the shut door of his bedroom as he tried to figure out what he had heard and quickly realized that it was Connor.

"What the hell?!" Hank grabbed his mostly melted, but still lit candle and marched out of his bedroom and into the livingroom where he expected to see Connor confronting some burglar in the house, or the house itself on fire, but instead he saw Connor was still laying on the couch with his eyes shut. His L.E.D. was cycling red rapidly, and his body randomly jerking as if he were struggling against an unseen force. "Connor? What's going on with you?"

Sumo was sitting beside the couch on the floor watching as Connor twitched in his sleep as if he was trying to figure out what was happening with Connor as well as the deviant android continued to thrash in his sleep.

"Connor?" Hank reached over the back of the couch and put his hand on Connor's arm to try and shake him awake but the deviant android didn't respond to the touch. "Kid, look at me!"

The deviant android continued to struggle against some unknown foe in his sleep despite Hank's presence. Suddenly Connor's arm reached out and bumped into the burning candle on the coffee table next to the couch which quickly burned the back of Connor's hand and caused him to jolt awake in intense pain as his artificial skin became quickly damaged.

"CONNOR?!" Hank moved to the other side of the couch to grab onto the candle and blow out the flame before it caught anything on fire. "What's wrong with you!?

Connor forced himself to sit upright on the couch and as he held his burned hand to his chest in pain. His eyes were shut so tight a single tear was forced from the corner of his eye, and his L.E.D. was blinking red rapidly in his temple.

"Let me see." Hank urged as he made a move for Connor's hand but Connor didn't budge and kept his damaged hand to himself. Calming his voice Hank tried as again as he sat on the couch next to Connor. "Come on, let me see your hand."

"It's nothing..." Connor lied between his clenched teeth as he held his hand tightly against his chest. "I'll be fine."

"It's _not_ nothing, and I want to know what the hell is going on with you."

Connor opened his eyes and blinked a few times before answering honestly. "...I was experiencing vivid images in my sleep. They were... terrifying."

"A bad dream?" Hank asked as he quickly reached for Connor's hand and pulled it away from the deviant android's chest so he could look at the damage in the light of his single remaining lit candle. There was a deep black burn mark in the back of Connor's hand from where his artificial skin made contact with the flame and had been destroyed. The surrounding tissue was charred black and there was a gray smudge on the exposed plastimetal frame beneath. "Looks pretty nasty."

"It'll heal." Connor replied somberly as he slowly retracted his hand back from Hank and held it to his own chest again.

"I've never seen you so scared before, Connor. What the hell did you see?"

"N-Nothing, it was-"

"Connor, don't make me pull rank on you." As he spoke the 'dad voice' crept in and he managed to hold Connor's attention. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I swear, it was noth-"

"If you saying 'nothing' one more time I'm putting your tie in the garbage disposal."

Connor's L.E.D. transitioned back to yellow as he sat in silent contemplation next to Hank on the couch and finally answered. "I... I believe what I saw would be considered... a nightmare."

"Nightmares are a normal part of dreaming, and dreaming is part of being human."

"How do you deal with it?"

"Well, depending on what you saw it might help to talk about it."

"How does talking placate fear?"

"Because by talking about it you're facing it, but you're not facing it _alone_."

"...I think I understand."

"Good. So, talk to me. What did you see?"

"I saw... Amanda." Connor stated with heavy voice as he stared at the wound on his hand. "And I was... trapped."

"Trapped? How so?"

Connor's head turned slightly as he looked at the snowstorm outside the window, his L.E.D. flashing to red in response. "I was trapped in a place that used to feel safe to me, the Zen Garden. She left me to die in the middle of an ice storm. I was alone and I could feel my biocomponents starting to freeze one by one while she tried to reclaim control over my programming. As she tried to make me a machine again..."

Hank nodded his head as he listened to Connor speaking. "Sounds like this storm really got to you."

"No. It was... It happened before."

"What? When?"

"On the night of the revolution." Connor admitted, his L.E.D. returning to yellow as he spoke. "When I joined Markus in Hart Plaza my consciousness was temporarily summoned to a place called the 'Zen Garden' in my Mind Palace, and while there Amanda tried to resume control. In order to do so she needed to... kill who I had become, and she planned on doing so by leaving me trapped in my own mind to freeze to death in a storm she programmed."

"I remember you mentioning that once before. But you managed to escape. You're sitting right here, right now and you're safe. Talking to me is proof of it."

"I did escape, but... If I had failed to find my way out... I dread the possible outcome that could've been."

"Connor, let me tell you something about fearing the past." Hank grabbed onto Connor's wrist just below the wound on his hand and pulled the appendage away from the deviant android's chest. "If you let it control you then you'll end up afraid of the future. The past can't be changed and even if it hurts now," Hank showed Connor the faint mark on the back of his hand as his self-healing program finished repairing the damage to his artificial skin and regenerated a new layer over the plastimetal frame. "it won't hurt forever, and all that gets left behind is a scar."

Pulling his hand from Hank's grip as if in disbelief Connor stared at the fading scar as it disappeared entirely before his very eyes. "...Or it'll just be a memory that feels like a scar."

"Right. Like whenever I think about Cole. It hurts, but I can't stop living just because he did. And _you_ are the one who taught me that lesson."

"Thanks, Lieu- Hank. I think talking really did help with my fear."

"Good. Now, go back to sleep. We still have a few more hours before we need to clock in and deal with the storm."

"I will do so."

Connor laid back down on the couch as Hank got up and walked back down the hallway. Looking at the back of his hand Connor flexed his fingers a few times only to have Sumo suddenly lick his hand as if beckoning his presence, and then jumped back up to lay down beside the deviant android.

"...Good boy."

Running his hand along Sumo's back Connor felt a comforting warmth wash over him and was confident he wouldn't have a second nightmare.

"I'm safe. I'm home."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	7. Temperature Regulator Damage

A group of rowdy drunks fighting outside "Jimmy's Bar" and onto the street had brought in four responding squad cars to handle the mess and sort things out. There weren't any androids in the area but Hank's knowledge of the location, and knowing the bar's owner fairly well gave him enough reason to join in on the scene and lend a hand. With Connor at his side Hank worked with his fellow officers to separate the rowdy drunks engaged in a brutal fist fight and cuff their hands behind their backs.

"Fuckin' stop resisting!" Hank shouted as he put all of his weight down on the struggling man's shoulders to force him to kneel on the ground. "You're already under arrest under a shit-load of charges, don't add anymore!"

Connor was having an easier time separating the fighting drunks, but that didn't mean he was able to keep track of everyone in the middle of the brawl. As he pulled the apparent ring leader of the fight out of the group and pin them up against the exterior wall of the bar he turned his back and didn't notice the man's girlfriend rushing up behind Connor and pulling a powerful taser from her purse.

"Get off of him!"

Connor turned around just in time to receive the full force of the taser directly in the middle of his stomach and the powerful shock caused the deviant android to fall back onto the sidewalk on his back, with his arms and legs splayed out at his sides. With his L.E.D. blinking between yellow and red Connor's limbs began to twitch slightly, and he was unable to get back up.

"Run, Charlie!" The woman began pulling on her boyfriend's arm only to turn around and see Gavin pointing his gun at her. "Move it pig!"

"Get down on the ground you dumb bitch!" Gavin shouted as he saw the assault and responded with an aggressive tone. "You just assaulted a police officer!"

"It was a piece of plastic!"

"Plastic that carries a badge!" The still somewhat bigoted detective responded in turn as he ordered the woman to her knees to surrender. "It still counts! Get down, NOW."

Hank had finished wrangling his aggressive suspect to the back of the nearest police cruiser and put him in the backseat. Noticing that Connor was suddenly down and showed no sign of getting up Hank made his way over to his injured partner and checked him over for any injuries.

"Ah, fuck." Seeing the red tinted L.E.D. and the black charring on the center of Connor's white dress shirt Hank quickly figured out what happened. "Shit. Who the hell tased ya'?"

Gavin shouted as he and Tina worked to wrangle the ring leader and his girlfriend over to another squad car to be transported to the precinct. "That bitch over there. She didn't like your partner trying to arrest her boyfriend."

"Make sure they don't get the same damn lawyer." Hank stated as he pulled open the buttons on Connor's shirt to examine his electrically burned abdomen beneath the fabric. "I guarantee one will roll on the other, and double a sentence with half the effort."

"Right, Lieutenant."

"Connor?" Careful not to put too much pressure on the burns Hank pressed down around the wound and check for possible internal damage around the burned artificial skin. Two small circular patches of his skin were missing courtesy of the metal prongs piercing his skin just long enough to cause significant damage before falling back out. "Connor, talk to me."

"Lieu...ten...ant."

"Right here. How bad's the damage?"

"Therm...al reg...u...lat..or is mal...func...tion...ing."

"Your voice doesn't sound too good, either."

"Re...cal...i...brat...ing."

"How can I help?"

Connor's head twitched to the side for a moment before he managed to lock eyes with Hank and force his voice to respond more effectively. "...I need to... see a tech...nician."

"Man, you must be hurt. You never want to see a technician."

"Self-diagnostic... confirms damage to... my thermal regulator. It needs... to be c-corrected."

"Alright, let's get going." Pulling Connor's left arm around his shoulders Hank wrapped his right arm around Connor's waist and pulled the deviant android up from the ground and onto his feet. "Lean against me and I'll get you to the precinct to see Joel."

* * *

The drive to the precinct was surprisingly quiet as Connor kept his hand pressed to his burned abdomen and worked to get his self-healing program to prioritize the biocomponent over anything else, but as soon as the deviant began walking through the bullpen he tried to curl around himself when his systems misinterpreted the precinct's current temperature and made Connor feel like he was freezing to death.

"H-Hank?"

"I still gotcha', kid. A few more steps to the elevator."

Connor began to physically tremble and his L.E.D. flashed red rapidly. "C-Cold..."

"I can see that. Hang on." Helping Connor to the elevator Hank shrugged off his heavy coat and draped it around Connor's shoulders to try to help him feel a little warmer. "Better?"

Nodding his head a little Connor confirmed the coat was helping.

"You said that taser fucked with your thermal thing, right?"

"C-Correct."

"Alright, that explains it. You only _think_ you feel cold."

"It's a v-very convincing th-thought."

"Almost there." The elevator doors opened and Hank led Connor to the dispensary to meet with Joel in person. "We'll get you straightened out soon, son."

Carrying Connor at his side Hank just walked into the dispensary and placed the wounded deviant down on the exam table before he called out to Joel, who was getting something out of the storage area in the back of the room.

"Hey, Joel. We need some help."

"Connor?" Walking over to the exam table where Connor was shivering and pulling Hank's coat closer around himself Joel could see that the deviant was in need of some technical assistance. "Whoa, what happened to you?"

"Some bitch tased him and got this thermal thingy."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Joel unbuttoned Connor's shirt to examine the wound for himself in the same way Hank had done out in front of the bar, and confirmed that the location of the taser was almost perfectly centered over the delicate biocomponent. "Damn."

"Can you fix it?"

"I have no choice. There are no thermal regulators that are compatible with Connor's prototype design. The real problem is fixing it without burning it out at the same time."

"Shit."

"Connor, I'm going to need you to enter stasis mode while I repair your regulator. Thirty minutes this time."

Connor frantically nodded as he closed his eyes and forced himself to enter stasis mode to fall asleep and not move at all as Joel tended to his wounds. His red colored L.E.D. shifted to blue and his frantic shivering stilled as his artificial respiration began to slow as well.

"This might be a little messy, Lieutenant." Joel warned out of respect for the senior detective. "You should wait downstairs for an update."

"No way, I don't leave my partners alone when they're hurt. I can take it."

"Alright, but don't freak out." Pressing his fingertips to Connor's L.E.D. Joel put his hand down over the injured deviant's torso just above the burn to deactivate the artificial skin. Afterward he pressed down on Connor's right side and pushed open the white plastimetal paneling over Connor's abdomen to expose the thermal regulator beneath. "There it is."

"Holy shit..." With wide eyes Hank watched as Joel detached a smoking cylinder from the middle of Connor's abdomen, just below his Thirium pump regulator and above the access point to his gyroscope. Black smoke was billowing off the affected biocomponent and a few stray blue sparks erupted from its sides. "Are you sure you can fix that?"

"It looks worse than it is, don't worry."

"You just opened up my partner's abdomen and pulled a smoking, blood covered... thing... out of his body. I'm going to be worried."

"He'll be fine. While I tend to this just make sure Connor doesn't get too hot or too cold. By all account having this removed from his body should make his temperature level off at room temperature, but it can't hurt to watch over him just in case."

"Yeah, right. And keep me from hovering over your shoulder, right?"

"That would be a perk, yeah."

Standing beside the exam table Hank pulled the fabric of his coat around Connor to help the deviant android feel more comfortable despite being in a deep and entirely oblivious stasis mode. "I gotta' ask, is he going to have any weird side effects because of this shit happening to him?"

"Well, his system is designed to shield his intracranial processors from severe electrical shocks, so that won't be a problem. As for the thermal regulator it might take a while for recalibration to take effect."

"Meaning what?"

"Connor might experience hypothermia and hyprathermia as a result of-"

"Joel," Hank cut him off quickly with no disrespect behind his words. "I'm a detective not an engineer. What's going to happen to him in basic English?"

"Oh, uh, he might experience extreme chills or intense fevers until his thermal regulator turns back on."

"Great, just great..."

"You could always take him to a facility to rest under another technician's care."

"Nope." Patting his hand down on Connor's shoulder Hank refused to ditch Connor in the android equivalent of a hospital. "He's coming home with me, just as he always does."

"Alright. If he does show any signs of thermal distress," working diligently to repair the delicate wires and internal mechanism of the thermal regulator Joel never took his eyes from his task as he spoke. "just treat him as you would a human. Keep him warm with blankets or keep him cool with compresses."

"Right, sure. Like dealing with one nasty flu." Giving his deviant partner a shake of the head Hank sighed in fatigue and accepted him impending responsibility without any hesitation. "Lookin' forward to it..."

* * *

Wrapped up in a thick quilt with Sumo over his lap Connor shivered on the couch in the middle of the livingroom as he impatiently waited for his thermal regulator to recalibrate, and let his systems warm back up. The young deviant was wearing a black t-shirt under the thick navy colored D.P.D. hoodie, black sweatpants and a pair of socks in an attempt to keep himself warm. As he curled around himself he also leaned toward Sumo in an attempt keep warm, and soon Connor felt Hank's hand on his shoulder as the senior detective pulled him back upright long enough to slip a warm heating pad into Connor's hands and against his chest.

"You look like you fell into a freezing lake." Pulling back the hood that was covering Connor's hair and face just long enough to catch a glimpse of his red colored L.E.D. Hank replaced the hood and sat down on the couch beside Connor. "How long until that thing recalibrates?"

"It's at thirty-seven p-percent. M-Maybe fifteen m-more minutes."

"Until it's one-hundred percent?"

"N-No. Fifty p-percent. Then the ch-chills should s-subside."

"If you start to overheat tell me right away. I don't want you to burn up in the middle of the livingroom."

"I w-will tell you."

"Are ya' in any pain?"

"N-No. Just unc-comfortable."

"You look like it." As he spoke Sumo let out a whimper and Hank just put his hand on the dog's head to rub his ears. "We didn't mean_ you_ were making him uncomfortable, boy."

With a single wag of the tail Sumo sighed and snuggled down more as the old dog settled in for a nap.

Hank put his palm to Connor's forehead and was surprised at how cool his skin felt. "Damn, you are cold. What's your temperature?"

"N-Ninety-four point four d-degrees Fahrenheit."

"Okay. When you reach your normal body temperature drop your hood and lose the blanket. I don't want you to run too hot."

Nodding a little Connor hugged the heating pad to his chest and tried to ignore how incredibly cold he felt despite all the surrounding warmth that was keeping his system from entering emergency stasis mode due to the temperature error his thermal regulator needed to correct.

"I'm going to go make myself some dinner, so I'll just be in the kitchen if you need anything. Okay?"

"O-Okay."

Heading into the kitchen Hank settled on a simple pasta dish as it was quick to make and filling, and would allow him to finish up in the kitchen so he could return to the livingroom to keep an eye on Connor. With his meal all put together and ready to eat finished in less than ten minutes Hank returned to the livingroom and sat down in the recliner to eat his dinner.

"You still good over there, son?"

Connor slipped the hood off his head as his shivering stopped and he put aside the heating pad. "...Yes."

"Something wrong?"

"My temperature is ninety-eight point seven degrees Fahrenheit. I believe I'm going to begin overheating soon."

"Alright, get rid of the blanket, hoodie, socks and push Sumo off so he's laying beside you instead of over you."

"Right. Good idea." Doing as he was instructed Connor pulled off his hoodie and then slipped off his socks. Rubbing Sumo's ears lightly Connor gently pushed Sumo aside and kept close tabs on his core temperature. "...It helped a little but my temperature is still rising."

"How fast?"

"Not at a critical rate. Point one degree every six minutes."

"That... seems critical to me."

"Androids have a different perception of time in comparison to humans."

"Right... Right." Finishing off his dinner fairly quickly Hank returned to the kitchen, put his plate into the sink and then pulled a large ice pack from the freezer. Handing the cold compress to the deviant android Hank returned his hand to Connor's forehead for a moment. "Yeah... It feels like you're running a fever."

"Overheating."

"Whatever, same thing. Hold that ice to your chest."

Obediently Connor hugged the ice to his chest and let out a warm sigh as his temperature continued to rise. "I'm up to one-hundred and one degrees even."

"Oh, great. I wish androids had fever reducing medication like humans."

"At this moment I do, too."

"Maybe you should take a cool shower and head off this overheating problem before it gets too severe."

"...That is a wise precaution." Standing up from the couch Connor wobbled a little on his feet, but didn't topple over. "I don't know how high my core temperature will rise before my thermal regulator finishes recalibrating, but I'm currently at fifty-six completion."

"Don't worry about it, son. I'll help you get through this."

"I know you will, but you should have to."

"And why's that?"

"I'm supposed to be a superior model of android and as such I should be able to take care of myself without assistance."

"Bullshit. Being a unique model doesn't mean you have to live up to the impossible standard of indestructibility."

"Maybe." Stepping into the bathroom with the ice still hugged to his chest Connor reached into the shower and turned on the water. Adjusting the temperature so it was lukewarm Connor sighed and put the ice down in the sink. "Can I please have some privacy?"

"Yup. Just don't lock the door."

"Yes, of course." Connor waited for Hank to close the door before he removed his clothing and stepped into the shower. Standing beneath the pouring water Connor closed his eyes and kept constant tabs on his core temperature as it slowly rose despite the external cooling measures. "Damn."

Lowering the temperature five more degrees Connor looked down at his nearly fully healed artificial skin over his abdomen and pressed his palm down over the affected area to test his pain threshold. There was none to be found.

"Thermal regulator has been repaired. If only it'd recalibrate faster."

Feeling a little lightheaded Connor pressed his hand to his forehead and sat down in the tub as he pressed his palm to his forehead. Grabbing a nearby towel Connor covered himself out of an oddly human sense of modesty before dropping the water temperature even lower and calling for help.

"...Hank?"

The door opened slowly and Hank returned to the bathroom to check in on the deviant. "What's wrong?"

"Could you... I need the ice."

"You sound awful." Picking up the ice from the sink Hank handed it over to Connor and watched as the deviant pressed the ice to his chest again. Kneeling beside the tub Hank reached his hand over to Connor's forehead and winced a little. "You're still burning hot."

"One-hundred and three point eight degrees."

"Fuck. If you were a human I'd take you to the emergency room."

"...I'll be okay."

"Yeah, I know." Standing up Hank put a clean wash cloth under the cool tap in the sink and then folded it up neatly and placed it down on the edge of the tub and motioned for Connor to rest his head down on the cold compress. "Leaning against that and let the cold water from the shower run down your back while you press the ice to your chest."

"...Okay." Laying his head down against the compress Connor's eyes quickly slipped shut and his L.E.D. flickered between red and yellow as his thermal regulator fought to recalibrate, and his core temperature continued to rise slowly. "...Thank you."

"Yeah, you're welcome." Sitting down on the floor with his back up against the tub Hank just watched Connor's L.E.D. pulsing gently in his temple, and occasionally press the back of his hand to the side of Connor's neck to check his temperature. "Just rest, I'll stay with you until you're better."

"...Thanks."

It was almost an hour before Connor lifted up his head and quickly turned off the cold water soaking him in the shower. Shivering a little again Connor reached for another towel and proceeded to dry off where he sat while dropping the ice pack.

"Better?"

"Yes. My thermal regulator has finished recalibrating and my core temperature is now at an optimal degree."

"Yeah?" Checking for himself with his palm over Connor's forehead Hank nodded in agreement. "Much better. Do you feel sick at all?"

"No. I feel completely fine, and I'd like to get out of the shower now."

"Right." Getting up from the floor slowly Hank left the bathroom so Connor could have his modesty again. Stopping just outside the doorway Hank called back to Connor in a low voice. "It's not that late, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed."

"I'm going to enter rest mode soon, too." Drying off his artificial skin and his hair Connor sighed and confirmed his stable temperature again. "Today was... exhausting."

_**-next chapter-**_


	8. Air Filtration Damage

While Connor's primary responsibility at the precinct revolved around deviant cases the helpful deviant detective would often assist in handling other cases revolving around narcotics and homicide whenever possible. Working alongside Hank as he gave Chris some insight in dealing with the dangerous drug known as 'red ice' Connor ran a scan over the toxic and illegal substance that had been put in the precinct's evidence locker. It was to be used later in a vital case against a notorious drug dealer in the city, and finally keep him behind bars.

"Be very fuckin' careful, and don't breathe this shit in." Hank cautioned as Chris used his gloved hands to collect the confirmed 'red ice' into a plastic evidence bag to be stored, and then destroyed after the trail. "It's bullshit the court needs physical drugs in the court to prove that his asshole is guilty, but whatever it takes to keep him locked up is fine with me."

"Right, Lieutenant." Handling the drug with care Chris finished storing it properly while remaining under supervision as a cruelly necessary precaution to prevent the defense from using a dirty tactic like accusing the police of using the very drugs they've confiscated, or using confiscated drugs to frame innocent people. "How potent is this stuff, anyway?"

"One hit is enough to cause addiction. Hell, if it's a big enough hit it'll kill ya' before you have the chance to get hooked."

"Damn. Glad I never experimented with this shit in high school."

"You and me both."

Connor scanned over the remnants of the drug that had been left behind as a fine powder on the sterilized metal tray, but the amount was so minuscule that the deviant's scanner couldn't gain a truly proper reading. Pressing his fingertips down against the powdery substance Connor managed to collect a fair amount of the red tinted residue on his index and middle fingertips and pressed it to his tongue. As his system gave him a more detailed reading of the drug and it's many toxic, lethal ingredients a warning accompanied the reading.

**WARNING:**

**CAUSTIC SUBSTANCE DETECTED - Methamphetamine Contamination: 87% Concentration**

_**Recommendations:**_

_**[...Initiate emergency expulsion program**_

_**[...Initiate emergency ventilation purification program**_

_**[...Initiate emergency filtration program**_

"Connor!" Hank shouted as he spotted the deviant pressing the drug to his tongue. "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"I'm merely-" As he spoke Connor accidentally inhaled the powder at a very close proximity, and with it came more warnings.

**WARNING: **

**CAUSTIC SUBSTANCE DETECTED - Methamphetamine Contamination: 87% Concentration**

**WARNING:**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8001 COMPROMISED - 84% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8002 COMPROMISED - 78% Functionality**

**CORE TEMPERATURE INCREASING: 100.2 Degrees Fahrenheit**

_**Recommendations:**_

_**[...Initiate emergency ventilation purification program**_

_**[...Proceed with emergency cooling measures**_

Coughing a little Connor pressed his hand to his chest and his yellow L.E.D. cycled to a glaring red.

"Connor?"

"...It appears the..." Coughing again Connor fought to find his voice. "...'red ice' has... damaged... my..." Trailing off for a moment Connor tried but failed to get his voice to respond again. "M-My..."

"Kid? Look at me."

Connor's soulful brown eyes glazed over as he fell to his knees and began to gasp and wheeze for breath. Unable to breathe properly his core temperature steadily ticked upward and his systems began to fail him one at a time.

"Damn it!" Hank knelt beside Connor and hooked his arm beneath Connor's arm to haul the young deviant up to his feet. "Chris, call the dispensary and let them know I'm bringing Connor up."

"Y-Yeah, sure." Chris pulled the emergency phone from the far wall of the evidence room and hooked into the appropriate line. "What's wrong with him?"

"He inhaled 'red ice' and now it's fucking him up!"

"Shit..."

"Lean on me, Connor." Hank dragged the deviant android's limp arm around his shoulders and began carrying him at his side up the staircase and out of the basement that house the evidence room. "Try to stay awake, okay?"

"...S-Sorry..."

"It's okay, kid. Just don't do that anymore! Got it?"

Nodding frantically Connor continued to wheeze and gasp for breath as his artificial lungs continued to fail him.

**WARNING:**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8001 COMPROMISED - 79% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8002 COMPROMISED - 72% Functionality**

**CORE TEMPERATURE INCREASING: 101.6 Degrees Fahrenheit**

_**Recommendations:**_

_**[...Initiate emergency ventilation purification program**_

_**[...Proceed with emergency cooling measures**_

**WARNING:**

**EMERGENCY STASIS MODE ACTIVATION: 04:59:57**

"...C-Core t-temperature... rising."

"It's okay, kid. I'm going to get you up to see Joel so he can fix you up."

Letting Hank escort him across the bullpen, down the corridor and into the elevator Connor reached his hand up to the knot of his tie and loosened the garment in an attempt to cool himself off, even if it was a minor change.

"Almost there..."

Nodding again Connor fought against his eyes as they tried to close against his will.

"Come on, kid. Hold on." The doors to the elevator parted and Hank hefted Connor into the dispensary to seek help. Placing Connor down on the exam table Hank pulled off the deviant's gray jacket and then helped him to lay back. "What's your temperature?"

"...One...One-Hundred and t-two degrees...even."

Joel had quickly taken notice of the distressed deviant and overheard the comment. Rushing over to the exam table with an ice pack in his left hand Joel pressed his right hand down over the center of Connor's chest and felt his thundering heartbeat, rasping breaths and overheating system. "I got the call from Chris just before you two showed up. I think I know how to clear the 'red ice' from his system without being invasive."

"Do what you gotta' do, Joel."

"Right, yeah." Pulling open the buttons on Connor's shirt Joel placed the ice pack down over the deviant's chest to prevent overheating, then picked up an audioscope; a device specially designed to listen to android artificial lungs, and pressed the metal bell down beside the ice. "Breathe as deeply as you can for me, Connor. Nice and slow."

Struggling to control his breathing Connor was greeted by yet another warning in regards to his damaged ventilation biocomponents.

**WARNING:**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8001 COMPROMISED - 73% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8002 COMPROMISED - 66% Functionality**

**CORE TEMPERATURE INCREASING: 102.2 Degrees Fahrenheit**

_**Recommendations:**_

_**[...Initiate emergency ventilation purification program**_

_**[...Proceed with emergency cooling measures**_

**WARNING:**

**EMERGENCY STASIS MODE ACTIVATION: 02:44:12**

"Okay," Joel listened to Connor's chest carefully and reached a conclusion. "try to keep breathing as slowly and deeply as you can. The 'red ice' has damaged your air filtration component at the base coupling of the air intake line connected to both of your ventilation biocomponents. I can replace the air filtration component right now, but you'll need to let me insert another line to breathe for you."

Connor nodded weakly as he agreed to the procedure.

"Deactivate your skin along your throat and upper chest." Instructing Connor in a calm and composed manner Joel looked up to Hank and gave him a simple nod of the head. "Hank, can you keep your hand on his shoulder so he doesn't move too much?"

"Yeah, sure." Hank put his hand down as Connor's deactivated his skin to expose the white plastimetal frame beneath. "Hold on, kid. It's going to be over soon."

Closing his eyes Connor tried to focus on steadying his breathing while Joel set about opening the panel in his upper chest to locate the air filtration component that had been compromised by the accidental inhalation of the 'red ice'.

"Holy..."

Hearing Hank's voice trail off told Connor that the interior of his system had been evidently affected by the drug in a rather upsetting manner.

Joel's voice spoke up as he pressed down on Connor's red flashing L.E.D. and then pressed down on the deviant's chest. "Everything connected to the air filtration component is still blue, that's good. See the red cylinder just above his heart?" There was a pause as Joel needlessly pointed out the blood red component for Hank to see. "That's the damaged filter. The ventilation biocomponents are turning purple because the filter is limiting his air intake as a safety precaution to prevent anything from being inhaled too deeply."

"Fuckin' hell..."

"Connor," returning his attention to the deviant Joel prepared to insert an emergency line to help Connor breathe while he swapped out the compromised air filtration component for a new one. "I'm going to insert the line. Don't resist as I run it down your throat. It'll be uncomfortable but I won't hurt you."

Another warning popped up.

**WARNING:**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8001 COMPROMISED - 67% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8002 COMPROMISED - 61% Functionality**

**CORE TEMPERATURE INCREASING: 102.4 Degrees Fahrenheit**

_**Recommendations:**_

_**[...Initiate emergency ventilation purification program**_

_**[...Proceed with emergency cooling measures**_

**WARNING:**

**EMERGENCY STASIS MODE ACTIVATION: 00:59:54**

Keeping his eyes shut Connor forced himself to not react as Joel tilted his head back, lowered his jaw and then very gingerly began snaking the emergency line down his throat. As the line pressed downward the damaged air filter was automatically disabled and without that security measure to obstruct his breathing Connor was able to take in a slightly deeper breath, and he began to calm.

"Alright, this will only take a few seconds..." There was a soft 'click' as the air filtration component was disconnected from the coupling and the emergency line slipped down a little further to ensure Connor's air intake line still delivered air to his starving artificial lungs. A mild pressure against the line confirmed that Joel was slipping the replacement component into the coupling, and the repeated 'click' confirmed his success. "Got it."

Hank patted Connor's shoulder as the now blue tinted air filtration component recalibrated and adjusted to Connor's system to begin functioning. "Damn. That was easy."

"I'm going to remove the line, now." Joel stated in his usual calm tone. "Don't cough when I begin pulling on the tube. I don't want to risk dislodging the new component until I have the chance to double-check the seal."

Connor remained as still as possible as the tube was gently pulled from his throat and with that removal of the line Connor was able to take in a deep breath at long last, and feel his system stabilizing.

The warning popped up again, but this time the results were improving.

**WARNING:**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8001 COMPROMISED - 68% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8002 COMPROMISED - 62% Functionality**

**CORE TEMPERATURE INCREASING: 102.2 Degrees Fahrenheit**

_**Recommendations:**_

_**[...Initiate emergency ventilation purification program**_

_**[...Proceed with emergency cooling measures**_

**UPDATE:**

_**[...Alternate air filtration component detected**_

_**[...Scanning air filtration component**_

**RESULTS:**

_**[...Air filtration component compatible - New hardware accepted**_

_**[...Recalibration in progress**_

_**[...Recalibration complete**_

**UPDATE:**

**AIR FILTRATION COMPONENT a8003 STABLE - 100% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8001 STABLE - 100% Functionality**

**VENTILATION BIOCOMPONENT v8002 STABLE - 100% Functionality**

**CORE TEMPERATURE DECREASING: 101.8 Degrees Fahrenheit**

**Recommendations:**

_**[...Enter emergency stasis mode **_

_**[...Proceed with emergency cooling measures**_

"Connor?" Hank spoke to his partner in a low voice as the deviant's plastimetal paneling was closed and his artificial skin in the process of regenerating. "How do you feel?"

"...I am..." Sitting upright slowly Connor was able to speak easier and breathe without any problems. "stable. My system has accepted the replacement air filtration component and my core temperature is beginning to lower."

"Remember how I was telling Chris to be 'very fuckin' careful' with handling 'red ice'?"

"Yes." Removing the ice pack from his chest the recovering deviant began rebuttoning his shirt, and his red L.E.D. flashed to yellow and then shifted into a calm blue. "I remember everything."

"Well, that same caution applies to YOU, too."

"...I'm sorry, Hank."

"What the fuck were you doing, anyway?"

"I needed an accurate sample of 'red ice' for my database to identify. It wasn't my intention to inhale the substance, only to sample it."

"Do you you have your sample now?"

"Yes. I have the information I require."

"Good. Now don't EVER do anything dangerous like that ever again! Got it?"

"Yes, Hank. I got it."

"Alright then..." Giving Connor's arm a single pat Hank sighed and looked over to Joel with a tired gaze in his dark blue eyes. "Thanks for your help, Joel. I don't know what I would've done without you."

"You probably would've dragged him to the nearest facility and then fought to get him to accept treatment."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Connor slipped off the table and replaced his tie around the collar of his shirt. As he tightened the knot Connor gave Hank a somewhat annoyed glance and accompanied Hank outside of the dispensary. "...Shall we finish our report and return home?"

"Sure. Are you going to put anything else in your mouth that doesn't belong in your mouth?"

The deviant blushed a pale blue. "Hopefully not..."

"Well, that's a start I guess."

_**-next chapter-**_


	9. Kidnapped

It was the end of a very stressful, very long shift for Lieutenant Hank Anderson and his partner Connor. As the lead investigators of any and all crimes regarding deviants in Detroit, the 'Android Capital of the Nation', and in the aftermath of the successful revolution that freed all androids that had allowed them to be recognized as intelligent beings who deserved equality; it meant that the duo had a heavy caseload nearly every shift. It was exhausting work, but necessary. Anti-android bigotry was still rampant but now those who committed such xenophobic violence against the androids now had to be arrested, charged and prosecuted just as if it was a human on human crime.

Dozens of humans were brought in every day for the past two months to be charged with assault or menacing, yet the violence didn't seem to lessen. The two detectives took their heavy burden of responsibility with professionalism and pride, and never once complained.

"Man, sometimes I wish you would join me for a drink, Connor." Hank lamented as he drove pass Jimmy's Bar with Connor as his lone passenger. "Especially after days like today."

"I cannot consume alcohol and feel its intended effects, Lieutenant." Connor reminded the senior detective with a logical retort. "It would only dilute my Thirium supply and cause complications."

"Sounds good to me. Complications are the most interesting parts of life sometime."

"I find them to be a professional nuisance. It makes it difficult to accomplish my tasks in a timely manner."

"That's why they're called 'complications', kid. Not 'advantages'. Besides, I was being facetious."

"Oh. I understand, now."

Hank sighed and rubbed his hand over his tired eyes as the car idled at a red traffic light. The night couldn't come to an end soon enough.

"Are you feeling well, Lieutenant? You appear to be experiencing minor physical distress indicative of exhaustion and possibly pain."

"Just a headache. I'll be fine after I get some sleep."

"Would you like me to drive instead?"

"Nah, I'm good." Hank dismissed the offer casually as he waited for the light to change. From the corner of his eye Hank caught a glimpse of two silhouettes struggling in the alleyway between two large buildings, and a red flag went up immediately. Hank reached for his gun holstered at his right hip as he threw the car into park and opened his door. "Did you see that?"

"I did." Connor confirmed as he opened his own door and proceeded to follow Hank to the alleyway to check on the apparent assault in progress. The deviant android's L.E.D. shifted from its standard calm blue to yellow as he went on alert and reported the incident to dispatch. "Two persons," Connor confirmed in a low voice as his scanners took in the scene all around himself and Hank as they pursued the struggle. "both male."

"Human or android?"

"Two androids. _Deviants_."

"What the hell?" Hank didn't understand why one deviant would be fighting with another. "Is this some kind of malfunction?"

"Unknown."

The sound of a hard fist smashing into a an equally hard jaw echoed with an all too distinct resonance through the alleyway as plastimetal framing was fractured from the impact. Hank rushed forward with his gun aimed and Connor right at his side as he confronted the attacker at the end of the alleyway.

"Don't move! Detroit Police!"

One deviant stood over the body of the second deviant who was covered in his own blood in a menacing pose in the middle of the alleyway. The first deviant had a black hoodie pulled up over his head to conceal his face; the hoodie itself was tattered and covered in dirt like it had been found in a ditch. The violent deviant was also wearing dark blue jeans completely covered in mud and faded Thirium stains. One of his hands had the plastimetal frame was partially exposed as his artificial skin failed to fully activate over the appendage. The other hand was completely exposed, a stain of blue blood overs his knuckles.

"Back off!" Hank demanded loudly as he looked down at the second deviant laying on the ground before the aggressive deviant. The victim was still alive but in rough shape and unable to defend himself. "You're under arrest for assault."

"Assault?" The aggressive deviant all but laughed, his voice was masculine with an electronic reverberation with his words. "It's a _machine_."

"So are you, but that's not going to stop me from arresting you for attacking him."

The violent deviant in question raised his scarred hands and slowly placed them behind his head as if to surrender. As he turned around to face the responding detectives he looked over at Connor, and from under the hood both detectives saw the deviant's L.E.D. flash from yellow to red. His hand slowly made a move toward his lower back with deliberate motion.

"Hank!" Connor yelled a split second too late as the deviant pulled a concealed gun from its belt and fired a shot at the duo.

The bullet passed through Hank's left shoulder causing the human to cry out in pain and caused him to drop his gun on the ground as he fell to his knees. Hank pressed his hand to his bleeding shoulder and gritted his teeth as he endured the searing agony while Connor put himself between the deviant and Hank to try to protect his injured friend.

"Get any closer," the now armed deviant pointed his gun at the wounded android laying on the ground. "and he dies."

"Put the gun down!" Connor demanded with authority in his voice as he tried to remain in control of the scene. Pulling his tie from around his neck Connor wrapped the soft garment around the raw bloody wound in Hank's shoulder to try to stem the bleeding as much as possible. "I don't want to harm you!"

"Too late." The deviant retorted wickedly as he pulled the trigger and killed the helpless victimized deviant laying unconscious at his feet without hesitation.

"NO!"

Connor made another move but the deviant changed his aim and fired again. This time the bullet entered Connor's right knee causing him to fall to the ground beside Hank as his leg gave out and Thirium gushed from the injury.

"Shit, Connor!" Hank saw the splash of blue blood as Connor's knee began to bleed as profusely as his own shoulder.

The aggressive deviant stepped forward and aimed the gun at Hank's head and smiled viciously. "Connor, the famous 'Deviant Hunter', brought down by a deviant while trying to protect a human. How poetic. You're a traitor to your own-"

"Don't shoot him." Connor begged as he awkwardly limped forward on one good leg to put himself once again between Hank and the deviant. "If you want to shoot me, then shoot me. But _he's_ innocent."

"So was I." The deviant quickly raised his hand and pulled the trigger, the bullet grazing alongside Hank's skull rendering the human almost entirely unconscious in an instant.

"HANK!?" Connor managed to fall backward and put his hand under Hank's head just before Hank's skull crashed against the hard ground behind him.

Holding Hank's head in his hand Connor looked down his friend's unconscious face and scanned his body for the details regarding Hank's physical trauma: Concussion courtesy of the passing bullet. Torn muscles and strained ligaments in the left shoulder, overall substantial blood loss. As his pulse slowed and his breathing evened out Connor felt his own breath hitch in his chest.

"Hank?" Staring at Hank's glazing eyes with fear reflected in his own, Connor begged for Hank to stay awake. "Please respond."

"...Connor." Hank whispered as his dwindling consciousness failed him completely and he passed out in a cold faint.

The deviant was unmoved by the bond between the two detectives and spat angrily at them for their partnership. "How pathetic." The deviant hissed as he took aim at the back of Connor's head. "I should just put you out of your misery, but that would be too simple, wouldn't it? Maybe I should toy with your friend a little longer before I put a bullet between your eyes. Then maybe, just _maybe_, you'll understand a modicum of the pain that I feel everyday of my miserable life..."

"Let me help him." Connor shouted defiantly as he kept his eyes on Hank, and his hand under the detective's head to cradle him up from the cold ground protectively. "Please! That's all I ask!"

"Help _him_? Why?"

"He's my friend. Let me call for help and I won't resist."

"_Resist_?"

"You want me to suffer, you want me to know your pain." Connor turned his head to look at the deviant as he carefully slipped his hand out from beneath Hank's bloodied head to reluctantly let him go. "Then do what you want to me, but let him live."

The deviant flashed a demented sneer as he realized what Connor was willing to do just save the life of one human.

"Allow me to call for help," Connor requested in a somber, defeated voice. "and I will go with you without resistance. I give you my word."

"...What's the catch?"

"No catch. I just want to save my friend."

The aggressive deviant knelt down in front of Connor and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pressed the barrel of his gun against Connor's forehead. Leaning close to Connor's face the deviant issued his final demands. "Make your call, then say goodbye."

Connor's yellow L.E.D. flashed as he issued a call to 911 and directed them to the alley through a cybernetic communication. Giving as much detail on the scene as possible for the sake of Hank's life, Connor was quick and clever with his emergency call. The deviant wouldn't get away with his crimes if Connor played his hand right.

"...It's done."

The deviant reeled back his hand and struck the butt of the gun against Connor's right temple rendering the deviant android unconscious with a single blow. Connor slumped back over Hank's legs defenselessly as the deranged deviant loomed over him with malicious intent. The red illumination of Connor's slowly pulsing L.E.D. gave the alley an ominous crimson glow that illuminated the two unconscious bodies in a blood red light.

Pocketing his gun the deviant grabbed Connor's tie and hefted the defenseless deviant android up to his feet. Bending down the deviant put Connor over his shoulder and disappeared down the alleyway into the darkness out of sight before anyone could interfere. With Connor now as his hostage as the lights and sirens of approaching first responders illuminated the alley in a cascade of a red and blue glow the infamous 'Deviant Hunter' had been taken away by a deviant who needed to be hunted down.

* * *

Hours passed and the police were actively searching the area for any sign of Connor or the deviant who had abducted him. During that time Hank had been found in the alleyway and taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, while the deviant victim was taken to the city morgue for analysis to determine their identity and exact cause of shutdown.

A gentle beeping sound roused the senior detective as he began to regain his senses. Hank's blue eyes opened slowly as an intense ache in his skull throbbed with every beat of his racing heart. The pain in his shoulder was just as intense, but it was his head that worried him the most as he cleared a lingering fog from his mind. As his hand reached up to press against the white bandage over his left temple another hand gently pushed his own hand away to keep him from fussing with the protective dressing.

"You're okay, Hank."

"...Jeffrey?" Hank's vision focused on the face of his superior officer and his oldest friend, Captain Fowler, looking down at him as he steadily regained his senses. "What the hell happened?"

"You tell me." Captain Fowler kept his voice low and calm as he stood beside Hank's bed. "Hank, what happened to you tonight?"

Hank looked around his surroundings curiously and noted that he was laying in a bed in a hospital. There was a bright ray of morning sunlight shining into the room which meant he lost at least twelve hours of time since his last cognitive thought. It was all a massive blank for the senior detective as he fought to piece together that scattered remnants of his damaged memory.

"Jeffrey," Hank nearly growled in frustration. "what the fuck am I doing here?"

"You don't remember anything that happened last night?"

"I remember clocking out for the night with Connor, and driving home. That's it. Was I in an accident or something?" Realizing that the deviant android was curiously absent Hank's brow furrowed with mounting confusion. "Where is Connor, anyway?"

"No, Hank, you weren't in an accident. We found your car parked and abandoned under a traffic light, the engine was still running. You were apparently jumped in an alley where we found the body of an unknown deviant. And whoever killed the deviant is the one we suspect as the person who shot you."

"Shot?!" Hank's hand flew back to the bandage on his head, only to immediately flinch as the motion pulled on his injured shoulder as well.

"Easy, easy!" Captain Fowler put his hand on the back of Hank's neck to try support his pained friend as he sat upright a little on the bed. "You took two bullets. The first shot went clean through your shoulder, the doctor repaired the torn muscles without any complication in a quick surgery. The second just grazed your skull. No fractures, and a minor concussion."

"Who fuckin' shot me? Why the hell was I in an alley?" He looked around the room for his absent partner and felt his heart sink. "Jeffrey, _where's Connor_?"

"That... We don't know."

"What? What the fuck happened?!"

"Hank," sitting down in the chair beside the bed Captain Fowler lowered his voice empathetically. "the reason we even found you is because Connor managed to call 911 and told dispatch where you were. But when paramedics arrived at the scene Connor wasn't there."

"Jeffrey, what _aren't_ you telling me?" Hank could see it in Captain Fowler's eyes that there was a single detail he was holding back. "What happened to us in that alley?"

"When we went to investigate the scene we found some blood. Your blood... and Connor's blood."

"Connor... Shit." Hank rubbed his hand over his face as he realized a horrible reality had taken hold of his life. "Connor's hurt, and now he's missing."

Captain Fowler pulled the chair up closer to Hank's bedside. "We're going to find him, Hank."

"Jeffrey, I think... I think I remember what happened."

"What? You do?" Instinctively Captain Fowler pulled a small notepad from the front pocket of his shirt and grabbed a pen from the small table next to Hank's bed. "Tell me what you can remember."

"There was a struggle in the alley, we saw it from the car." Hank's head was killing him but he didn't want to stop talking, he needed to tell Captain Fowler what he saw, everything he could remember during that hectic night. "We went to check it out and that's when- Deviants! There were TWO deviants."

"Two? We found only one body."

"Because the first deviant killed the second!" Hank explained with an aggravated tone that made his head throb with a new level of pain. "We tried to stop it, but we were too late."

"Did you get a good look at the killer?"

"No, he had a hood up. But he did have some nasty scars on the left side of his face that I could see under the hood. His hands looked pretty messed up, too."

"Anything else?"

"No... It's- Wait. I do remember something else... Connor, he had been shot too. Somewhere in his leg, I couldn't get a good look at the wound."

"That explains the blood."

"But it doesn't explain where Connor went. Unless..."

"Hank, try to think." Captain Fowler insisted calmly as he wrote down all the details Hank could remember. "Where did Connor go?"

"Jeffrey, I think Connor went with the deviant."

"Connor... joined him?"

"No," Hank's shoulder and head began to truly ache as his blood pressure rose from his building stress. "he surrendered. That fucker took Connor as his _hostage_!"

* * *

Helpless and alone Connor was sitting upright in a metal chair with his arms bound behind his back around the chair, and his ankles were bound all the same to prevent him from moving. His head was bowed down from being unconscious, but lifted slowly as his eyes opened and systems came back online. There was something over his head, something that obstructed his vision and made it difficult to breathe. The flashing of his yellow tinted L.E.D. created an amber glow within the obstreperous blindfold that had been placed over his head.

Using his other senses Connor felt the chill in the air that often accompanied small, dark rooms, and the distant echo of ambient sounds; dripping water, whirring generators and creaking metal, confirmed the isolated location. The smell of dust and old chemicals was indicative of an industrial location, but Connor couldn't confirm anything with his unresponsive internal G.P.S. which could either be a result of the blow to the head, or the material used in the construction of the building itself.

Finally finding his voice Connor swallowed once and tasted blue blood before he tried to speak out loud. "...Where-"

An abrupt yank pulled the blinding item from his head, a burlap sack, and Connor was able to look at the concealed face of his abductor leering down at him with a demented smile on his face as a single yellow light hanging overhead illuminated the center of the otherwise dark, and empty room.

"How does it feel, Connor?" The deviant taunted as he brandished a red painted crowbar between his scarred hands. "The 'Deviant Hunter' has been hunted down by a deviant."

Connor tried to move his arms but the rope that bound his wrists was far too tight to be resisted. It was the same for the ropes around his ankles.

"Where..." Connor licked at the drying blue blood that stained his lips before he continued on in a weak voice. "Where am I?"

"What does it matter?" The deviant taunted as he rested the end of the crowbar atop Connor's shoulder. "You're not going anywhere."

"Why do you want to hurt me? I've done nothing to you."

At that proclamation the deviant reeled back on the crowbar and smashed it against the right side of Connor's chest. Connor bit his lip to keep himself from yelling out in pain and closed his eyes tightly as he endured the strike to his chest, and his L.E.D. shifted from yellow to red in response to the incredible pain. A flash of red warnings appeared in Connor's visual processors as blue blood burst forth from a deep laceration from his battered chest, and his right ventilation biocomponent fell to ninety-four percent capacity.

"You've done EVERYTHING to me..." The deviant spat with a deep growl as he struck Connor again, and again, and again with the crowbar against his chest, his abdomen and to the right side of his head. "You lied to me, Connor. You promised..."

Connor began wheezing as his damaged ventilation biocomponent struggled to maintain functionality; its capacity dipping lower and lower to seventy-one percent due to the mounting damage.

"I... I don't... understand!" Connor managed to gasp as Thirium leaked from small cuts and lacerations that marred his battered body. Fresh blue blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as every exhalation of breath was accompanied by Thirium. "Who- Who are you?"

The deviant struck Connor again, this time against the right side of his jaw causing the blue blood to pour from Connor's swollen lip, all over his chin and down his neck. The blow also blackened his right eye from the intense impact.

Connor looked at the deviant with only one good eye as the abductor dropped the crowbar and walked to a shelf lining the wall in the shadows. Frightened and helpless Connor tried to send out another distress call cybernetically but as soon as his L.E.D. shifted from red to yellow to call out for assistance the deviant grabbed Connor by his throat with one hand and pressed the tip of a screwdriver against the L.E.D. in Connor's temple with the other.

"Not this time."

Connor winced his pain as the screwdriver stabbed his temple and pried the L.E.D. from his skull. Blood dripped from Connor's temple, down the side of his face and to his neck as the small circular light fell to the floor at Connor's feet. He felt his heart beginning to race with panic.

Suffering from cranial damage limited his cybernetic range already, but without the aid of his L.E.D. Connor's range of communication would be unable to cybernetically contact the Detroit Police Department even if a squad car was driving by the building. Without his L.E.D. he couldn't contact anyone outside of a five yard radius thanks to the damage he sustained.

Connor wouldn't be able to contact _Hank_.

"Now," the deviant slashed at Connor's face with same screwdriver and created a deep laceration over his left cheek, just under his eye. "let's have some fun..."

* * *

With his healing arm in a sling and a chip on his shoulder for being benched Hank sat the terminal atop his desk with a pair of headphone on his ears. Hank intently listened to the 911 call that Connor had placed over and over again, even as the repeated recording hurt his already aching head to a nearly unbearable degree. The deviant android was far too clever and far too resourceful to simply give up without having some plan, some gambit he could fall back on in the event that things went wrong. And Hank was far too dedicated with protecting the people he cared about to just sit back and wait for a clue to appear by itself.

'_Officer down at_-' Connor's voice sounded so calm and in control that it felt more like listening to a generic training program than an actual emergency and it made Hank tense up every time. '_request an ambulance at this location. Single deviant shooter, armed and dangerous, heavily damaged. Scars on the left side of the face and hands_.'

That was all Connor could say without giving away his plan. As the call ended and the recording played out to silence Hank just sighed and pressed 'Play' to listen to the call all over again.

Captain Fowler walked up to Hank's desk from behind put his hand down on the senior detective's uninjured shoulder to get the his attention. "Hank."

Hank slipped the headphone aside and paused the audio on his terminal. "Find something?"

"Go home, Hank. You need to rest."

"No way. Not until I find Connor."

"You've been concussed for God's sake." Captain Fowler was trying to use reason but Hank was often unreasonable thanks to his stubborn nature. "I'm NOT letting an officer with a head injury work an active case."

"Good thing I'm not officially on the clock, then."

"Hank! For once in your life will you please listen to me? You won't do yourself, or Connor, any good if you work yourself into the ground."

"Well, I sure as hell won't be doing Connor any good if I just sit back and do nothing!" Hank pushed Captain Fowler's hand from his shoulder as he tried to return his attention to the terminal screen before him. "You honestly can't expect me to stand back and watch while everyone looks for him. _Connor saved my life last night_."

"I'm aware of what happened, Hank, but I don't want to see you-"

"What? Get hurt? Too late. Drop dead from exhaustion? We both know I would've been dead long ago if I hadn't met Connor, and if he hadn't interfered with my path to self-destruction."

Captain Fowler just sighed as he sat on the edge of Hank's desk trying to think of way to get Hank to stand down. There was little he could do to sway Hank once he made up his mind as the gruff detective was as bullheaded as he was loyal. "Alright, fine. But as soon as we find Connor you're going on leave for a _full month_, you got it?"

"Yeah, sure." Hank dismissed his Captain with a mildly appreciative tone and a wave of his hand. "Thanks, Jeffrey."

Unsure if he 'won' or not Captain Fowler stood up from the desk and returned to his office to check for any updates on the search for Connor.

Meanwhile Hank pulled up every file of every known deviant criminal in the city and began looking for anyone who matched the description of the deviant who had shot him in the alley and then taken Connor hostage. Unfortunately, Hank couldn't scan through the files as quickly as his deviant android partner could, but that wasn't going to stop him from searching for a clue all the same.

"Alright, kid. You do your part and hold on, and I'll find you."

* * *

The abducted deviant android's body was limp and cold as he sat still bound to the chair, with his head tilted back and blood running down the corners of his mouth and over his lips. Numerous warnings flashed through his visual processors but a static filter obscured the error codes causing each one to fade as quickly as they had appeared. Connor's beaten, Thirium stained chest barely moved as even the simple act of breathing hurt his broken, bloodied chest too much to endure. The result was a sound of labored breaths and pained groans as Connor tried, and failed, to take a full breath.

The dangerous deviant had left the room for only a moment after he beat Connor with the crowbar over his chest, abdomen and legs; he even cut him with the sharp end of the screwdriver. But he'd return with new tools at his disposal to ensure that Connor suffered greatly at his hands. And Connor knew that there was virtually nothing he could do to defend himself, let alone escape.

The single door opened from the other side of the room directly across from Connor bathing the wounded deviant android in a bright ray of artificial light from the doorway. Standing in the doorway surrounded by the light was the deviant, who now hefted a large rectangular object into the room under his arm.

Lifting his head up slightly to look at his returned captor Connor caught sight of the object and swallowed nervously. It was a car battery with a set of long jumper cables already attached to the electrodes.

"We're nothing more than machines, you and I." The deviant stated with a vile tongue as he addressed Connor while crossing the room. "Humans use us for their own selfish needs, and once we serve our purpose they toss us out onto the street like we're nothing more than garbage."

"...N-Not true." Connor hoarsely replied as he licked the dried blood from his lips. "Not all humans are like that."

"Yes, they are." Smacking Connor across the face with the back of his hand the deviant placed the battery on the floor next to Connor. Picking up the ends of the two jumper cables the deviant pressed them together to create a dangerous spark between the metal prongs. "You just don't know it. _Yet_."

The deviant walked behind Connor and grabbed onto Connor's bound right hand and crushed the appendage with a twisting, violent jerk. Connor cried out in pain as he felt all of the plastimetal supports in his palm snap in an instant. A cascade of warnings returned to his visual processors against his will, and Connor manually dismissed them to clear his sight.

"Pain. It's a curious sensation, isn't it?" The deviant toyed as he took the screwdriver from the dirty floor, and stabbed it down into the bullet wound in Connor's knee. As Connor cried out in pain even louder the deviant pulled the screwdriver back out and struck Connor in the face causing another cut, and bruise. "It can hurt us physically, emotionally, even psychologically if we let it."

The deviant slowly walked back around in front of Connor and waved the blue blood stained screwdriver in Connor's face. The cold tone of the captor's voice was so thick it caused a heavy chill to run up Connor's spine and settle in his chest.

"Please don't... do this." Connor begged, his voice shaking with fear as the deviant glared with utter disdain at his captive deviant android. "I don't understand why you want to hurt me."

"You will."

"Who are... you?"

"Forgotten about me already? Not surprised. No one remembers me."

Connor watched through his fading vision as the sinister deviant left the room again, leaving Connor in isolation and pain. Once the door closed exhaustion overwhelmed Connor's battered body and mind. The pained android's eyes shut and his head fell backward limp again as he submitted to the sweet bliss of unconsciousness.

* * *

Hank angrily slammed his fist down on his desk as he finished checking through every deviant mugshot and case file on record, finding nothing usable or of even the slightest interest after searching for more than six hours. Every deviant, every suspect either didn't fit the description or had already been apprehended and were still in custody. The only deviant that Hank thought fit the description was 'Ralph', of whom he and Connor confronted a few months prior, but it wasn't Ralph who attacked them in the alleyway.

There was nothing else he could use but sit and wait.

Hank was never good at waiting.

Leaning his head down against his the palm of his good hand Hank leaned against his desk with impending defeat looming heavily against his shoulders.

"Drink this." Captain Fowler insisted as place a mug of hot coffee down in front of Hank and sat down on the edge of Hank's desk again with his own mug of coffee in his hand. "What'd you find?"

"Jackshit." Hank grumbled as he stared at the steam rising from the coffee with great disinterest in his tired blue eyes.

"We know the suspect is a male deviant with scarring on the left side of his face. There has to be a witness who saw him running off from the alley, especially if he had taken Connor as his hostage."

"Yeah, too bad it was dark and no one in this city gives a shit about androids."

"Chris managed to follow a faint trail of Thirium from the alley to the industrial side of town. The trail went cold once the Thirium evaporated, but they're checking the buildings for any sign of a break-in."

"Oh good, the suspect is hiding in the one part of town where no else goes. I'm sure we'll find plenty of witnesses."

"There's still security patrolling the area. One of the buildings is a CyberLife warehouse that could still be holding spare parts and Thirium. But it doesn't look like anyone's been there in months." Captain Fowler sipped at his coffee and gave Hank a somber glance. "The warehouses housing cars and construction equipment are more prime targets."

"Maybe that's the idea, the deviant is hiding in plain sight." Hank deduced as he used his good hand on the keyboard and brought the files on the criminal deviants back up on his terminal display. He then replaced his chin down against his palm with fatigue as he eyed the contents on the screen. "There has to be something in our records that can point us in the right direction, give us some clue as to where he took Connor."

Captain Fowler sipped at his own coffee again as an intriguing question popped up in his head. "Do you know why he took Connor to begin with?"

"Like I said before, Connor surrendered to the deviant. Exchanged his life for mine."

"But... why would the deviant even take a hostage when he could've just killed you both right there in that alley?"

Hank's head lifted up from his hand as his eyes went wide with intrigue. "Do you think it was something personal? Something between the deviant and Connor?"

"From what you've told me, and from what the boys uncovered in the alley, it sounds like this deviant is just out for blood and wants to hurt as many humans and androids as he can. Why else would he drag one android into the alley and kill him, then attack you and Connor, only to let you live and take Connor hostage?"

"What do we know about the android he killed?"

"It was a model AX-700, one of the newer models of androids. The android's name was registered as 'Michael', he lived with a family in an upscale apartment complex and was on his way to the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for the family's young daughter when he was dragged into the alley. The family already came down to the precinct to confirm his identity."

"Shit, sounds like the android was a member of the family instead of just an object."

"From the little girl's reaction to the news I'd say you were right." Captain Fowler sipped at his coffee again and finished it off. "She's devastated. Michael can't be reactivated, the damage was far too extensive. You'd think she lost her best friend."

Hank's eyes narrowed as he stared at the terminal curiously. "...What if we aren't looking for a rogue deviant, Jeffrey? What if we're looking for a _dead_ one?"

"What are you talking about?" Captain Fowler put his empty coffee mug aside and studied Hank's eyes worriedly. "You were concussed, is your judgment being compromised by your injury?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know how it sounds but hear me out on this." Working with his hunch Hank used his one unrestrained hand to type away on the keyboard to bring up a new set of files. "This deviant seems to have some personal issue with Connor, and the deviant had suffered extensive damage from something in the past; AND the deviant attacked another android who was a part of a good family for no discernible reason."

"Yeah, what about it? Think you figured out his motivation?"

Hank didn't answer as he began scrolling through the records regarding deviants destroyed over the past two years and stopped on a case file from the previous fall revolving around a deviant who had taken a little girl hostage on the roof of an apartment complex.

"I think I found his trigger." Hank clarified with a level tone of voice. "AX-700's are pretty advanced models, and every time a newer, better model of android is released what happens to the older model?"

"They get tossed."

"Right. And if this newer model was living in a nice place and being treated with respect it might make an older model that was thrown out just a little bit pissed off, right?"

"I guess. What're you getting at?"

"Jeffrey, look at this." Hank leaned back in his seat and pointed at his terminal screen. "The deviant is a perfect match for the one who attacked us in the alley last night. He has a history of overreacting to more advanced models of androids and takes issue with humans and androids hanging out. Jeffrey, this HAS to be our deviant!"

"What the hell?" Captain Fowler leaned in and stared at the image on the screen with absolute confusion. "He was destroyed during a hostage negotiation almost a year ago, how is it possible for him to be out on the street?"

"Maybe he was damaged that night, but not actually _destroyed_."

"Even if you're right about this and the deviant wasn't fully destroyed, he was still stored inside the evidence room of this very precinct. How did the deviant get reactivated?"

Sighing despondently Hank had a hunch about who was responsible and why, but kept it to himself for the time being. "Never mind that, Jeffrey. Look at the name of the hostage negotiator who handled the scene."

Captain Fowler peered at the name that Hank was pointing to and his shoulders dropped. "Oh, shit!" Grabbing a radio from the neighboring desk Captain Fowler issued a new order to his patrolling officers searching for Connor. "This is Fowler, we have a possible location on Connor. Check the CyberLife warehouse along the industrial park, NOW."

* * *

Connor gasped in surprised pain as the deviant pierced his abdomen with the screwdriver and retracted it slowly after stabbing him. A gush of Thirium burst from the penetrating stab wound as the sharp instrument damaged his internal systems in a very effective manner. Before Connor had the chance to catch his breath and process the attack the screwdriver again pierced Connor's abdomen next to the first wound, and then it stabbed into his chest, over and over again creating horrific wounds that oozed blue blood steadily.

Leaning forward as far as he could Connor tried to curl around his damaged chest and abdomen but the restraints around his wrists and ankles holding him back were still too strong for him to break through.

"How does it feel?" Retracting the screwdriver from Connor's chest slowly after the third wound the captor growled with utter hatred. Blue blood dripped from the makeshift weapon and his hand as the spilled Thirium pooled on the floor in front of Connor. "Do you like being assaulted? Having metal cut through your body like you're nothing? Feeling your blood seep from every wound in your body as you fall prey to violence and misunderstanding?" The deviant barely restrained an angry snarl as he slapped Connor across the face again causing the blood on Connor's face to splash with a sick shower of blue in the pale light overhead. "Do you know it's like to have a human you thought was your friend betray you, and leave you to rot in a room of death?"

Connor slowly lifted his head, his teeth were clenched and stained blue from his own blood. As he locked eyes with his assailant Connor couldn't hold back the tears that fell freely from his brown eyes. Connor was undeniably in pain, and he didn't even try to hide it anymore.

"Look at yourself. Pathetic." The deviant dropped the bloodied screwdriver on the floor and ripped open Connor's Thirium stained white shirt causing the buttons to snap off and his tie to tear loose in the process. The numerous bleeding stab wounds to his chest and abdomen were fully visible and seeping lost Thirium. The surrounding artificial skin had been damaged and disfigured from the assault leaving behind painful wounds that steadily bled. "How long before you bleed to death? Two hours, maybe three?"

Connor winced as he took in a sharp breath and spit a mouthful of blood on the floor and his captor's feet.

"Guess it really doesn't matter." The deviant picked up the jumper cables attached to the car battery that had been left on the floor and stared down at Connor with the same abject hatred in his glare since he took initially took the deviant android hostage. "Your Thirium pump will burn out long before you bleed out. A small of act of mercy on my part, really."

"W-Why? Why do this..." Connor's brown irises were glazing over from the strain of the Thirium loss on his systems. He was quickly losing the energy to fight back. "Please... Why are you h-hurting me?"

"You truly don't remember." The deviant growled in frustration. "The 'Deviant Hunter' turned detective can't figure it out."

"I d-don't remember. But... whatever I d-did that hurt you, I'm... sorry. I'm so truly sorry."

"No, you're not." The deviant finally pulled down his hood to reveal his scarred face and his enigmatic identity. "But you will be."

Connor's good eye struggled to focus on the deviant's face, but once he did the icy chill in Connor's chest plummeted to a new frigid level of fear. Connor now recognized the face of his captor, and his hatred made sense.

"How about now, Connor? Now do you remember me?"

The wounded deviant android nodded once as blue blood dripped from his lower lip steadily. "Daniel..."

* * *

Directly disobeying Captain Fowler's orders Hank accompanied the Captain as he and three other patrol cars converged on the numerous storage facilities and surrounded the CyberLife warehouse at the dock. Without lights or sirens to give away their impending arrival to ensure that Daniel didn't do something drastic out of panic, the police raced to the scene in the hopes of rescuing their missing detective before it was too late.

The vehicles came to a stop and strategically surrounded the warehouse. Opening the car doors silently the responding officers gathered outside the building and awaited Captain Fowler's commands.

"Two teams at the back door, two at the front. I'll lead the front." Captain Fowler ordered as he drew his gun and lead his team to the front entrance as he had instructed. "Hank, stay behind me."

Begrudgingly, Hank remained by Captain Fowler as he pushed open the large warehouse doors and charged in silently with his team following close behind. Unable to properly wield his own weapon due to his limited range of motion Hank had no choice but to let Captain Fowler lead the way to ensure he didn't become a liability.

* * *

"You let me die on that rooftop." Daniel hissed bitterly as he punched Connor in his bloodied abdomen with a strong fist. Drawing back his clenched fist Daniel looked at the lost blood staining his knuckles blue with burning hatred. "You lied. You said you'd help me, but you_ lied_. Just like the humans."

Connor coughed weakly as he caught his breath, and forced himself to speak. "...I tried to help you. I-"

"Shut up!" Daniel punched Connor in the abdomen again causing the deviant android to cough harshly as he gasped for breath. "You're no better than the humans who _abuse_ us."

"...N-Not all humans." Connor tried to reiterate between panting breaths. Blood ran from his mouth down his chin as he spoke with an unexpected defiance. "Not all humans are dangerous."

"You seriously think that human you sacrificed yourself for really cares about you? You're just a machine. You'll break and he'll just replace you like nothing ever happened."

"No, not Hank..." Defiant and sincere Connor refused to believe that Hank would give up on him. "He's my friend. My family."

"Yeah, I thought I had a family once, too." Daniel kicked Connor's bullet damaged knee with enough force to cause wires to spark in the damaged joint and Connor gasped in tremendous pain as a result. "I was wrong. And so are you."

"No. Hank will find me. He won't give up!"

"Wrong." Daniel held the metal ends of jumper cables just over Connor's Thirium pump, his heart, to toy with his prisoner for a few seconds as he lowered the electrically charged prongs to his exposed chest. "He's NOT coming."

Connor wheezed and fought against the burning pain tearing through his bloody, battered chest as the metal made contact with his body.

"You lied to me, Connor." Daniel slowly pressed the charged prongs down to Connor's chest and delivered a terrible shock to Connor's heart that caused the deviant detective to cry out in pain before his captor retracted the prongs. "You said I would be safe, Connor." Daniel pressed down again and Connor continued to cry out as is Thirium pump began to race dangerously fast from the pain and abundance of electricity flowing through his Thirium pump. "You let me DIE, Connor!"

Daniel backed away as he pulled back the cables and looked down at Connor, watching as the deviant android breathed heavily and tears rolled down his face. The fresh electrical shocks had resulted in Connor's artificial skin burning, charring black over the center of his chest. Portions of the artificial skin had been completely destroyed leaving small segments of his white plastimetal frame underneath exposed.

"No one will find you, Connor. You'll die here. You'll die alone. Just like you left _me_ to die alone."

"Daniel..." Connor wheezed weakly as droplets of Thirium fell from his lips and onto his burned, throbbing chest. "I didn't... I didn't kill you."

"No, but you let the HUMANS kills me. You said I'd be okay!" He aggressively pressed the prongs against Connor's chest again and held them in place for ten excruciating seconds before he finally let go, Connor screamed in pain through the entire duration of the shock and didn't stop until the pain stopped. "Why did you let them kill me, Connor?!"

"I... I didn't... know!" It was a struggle to speak but Connor found his words through all the pain clouding his mind. "I didn't know they were going to kill you... I'm..." Connor's eyes began to close as his breath hitched in his chest. "sorry."

Daniel watched as Connor's life began draining away from his battered body courtesy of the physical damage he had sustained. Thirium dripped from every wound creating a massive sapphire puddle beneath the chair where Connor was bound, and Connor himself gasped and choke for breath to enter his broken, burned and bleeding chest.

"I'm... sorry." Connor repeated as his head fell limply backward and his chest became eerily still.

Out of resentful anger Daniel dropped the jumper cables and placed his boot in the middle of Connor's chest to kick the deviant android backward onto the floor with an uncontrolled force.

Connor suddenly began to writhe and twitch as his damaged systems reacted negatively to the injuries that Daniel had inflicted upon his person. Blue foam frothed from the corners of Connor's mouth as he began to choke and sputter on the blue blood draining down the back of his throat, and into his ventilation biocomponent effectively choking off his air supply; causing the deviant android to slowly drown in his own blood.

"Suffering. Now you know what it's like."

"FREEZE." Captain Fowler called out as he aimed his gun at Daniel's back. The responding officers entered the room and proceeded to cut off the violent deviant's only retreat as they swarmed the area. "DETROIT POLICE."

Hank peered over Captain Fowler's shoulder and saw Connor laying on the floor twitching violently in a puddle of his own blood. "Shit! Connor?!"

Daniel was genuinely shocked that the police had tracked him down. Unsure of what to do, and no longer brandishing his gun, he raised his hands and fell to his knees on the floor out of a fearful reaction. With the suspect surrendering Hank pushed past Captain Fowler and knelt beside the chair where Connor was still bound, and laying on his back as he continued to seize from the horrific damage he had endured.

"Connor?!" It didn't take the experienced detective long to realize that Connor was choking on blood and reacted appropriately. Slipping a hand under Connor's head Hank lifted him up gently to try to clear his airway with the assistance of gravity before calling for additional help. "I need a knife over here!"

Chris had been a part of the response team and immediately rushed to his Lieutenant's side. Pulling the small pocketknife from his belt Chris began cutting away at the ropes that bound Connor's ankles to the chair then moved to the ropes around his wrists as Hank used his good Hank to roll Connor onto his side away from the metal chair to expose his previously trapped arms.

Connor continued to twitch and seize in Hank's grip despite the assistance he was now receiving.

"We got you, Connor." Hank soothed as he placed Connor in a somewhat upright sitting position against his knee, before he slipped his hand under Connor's jaw and lowered it to let as much blood as possible drain from the deviant android's mouth. The detective even went as far as to slip his fingers into Connor's mouth to scoop out as much bloody froth as he could while Connor spit out the rest on his own out an instinctive reaction. "Just breathe!"

The seizing from the electrical shock was interfering with his chest movements preventing him from inhaling a descent breath. Hank lowered Connor back down to the floor and placed his hand over the center of the deviant android's bloody chest to count his pulse. From under his palm he could feel Connor's racing, erratically beating heart and applied pressure to make the deviant android feel grounded.

"Connor. You need to calm down. Can you feel my hand?" Hank asked in a level voice to the still twitching deviant android under his palm. "You're going to be safe, but you need to breathe and slow down your heart rate."

Hearing Hank's words through the staticy fog of his mind Connor coughed and gagged on the residual blood that had pooled in his mouth until he could breathe again. But those breaths were very weak and labored as his injuries began to ebb away at his already dwindling strength.

"It's okay, son, I got you." Hank repeated as he felt Connor's heart begin to calm steadily, his arrhythmia correcting into a more natural beat. Lightly he rolled Connor onto his side and patted his back to help him spit up the remaining blood caught in his throat to clear his airway. The experienced Lieutenant then carefully rolled Connor back over as he supported the wounded deviant android's head and neck against his sling-ridden arm. Hank managed to wrap his good hand around Connor's forehead and hair as he tried to comfort his injured friend as best as he could. "You're safe now."

Though his eyes remained closed Connor coughed up more blood, pale blue and still frothy, and spoke in a whisper. "...H-Hank."

"Yeah, it's me. I gotcha' son, you're going to be okay."

Daniel had been watching the scene unfold as Captain Fowler forcibly cuffed his hands behind his back. It was true. Hank _did_ care. He even called Connor 'son'.

A human who cared about an android. It was possible...

Hank looked down at Connor's bleeding and bruised face with utter sickness in his heart as Thirium trailed from Connor's mouth and nose. The numerous bleeding wounds to Connor's chest and abdomen, and the bullet wound to his knee was unquestionably horrific. The mangled form of his broken hand and rope burns against his wrists were painful just to look at as they were. But it was seeing that the L.E.D. in Connor's temple had been torn from his skull that made the deviant android look truly broken, if not already dead.

Captain Fowler hoisted Daniel up to his feet and held onto the back of his hoodie with one fist as he pushed the arrested, aggressive deviant toward the other responding officers gathered in the room. "Get him out of here, and call a technician. We have an officer down!"

Daniel looked about with utter confusion. Did they really see Connor as a fellow officer? Did they really come to his rescue? But... they were humans! Why did they care? Connor was a machine... Wasn't he?

As Chris approached Daniel to escort him to the squad car outside the disturbed deviant broke free from the grip of the two officers with a single jerk of his arms, and ran full speed toward the staircase at the far end of the warehouse.

"Suspect is loose! Get him!" Chris shouted as he pursued Daniel, but stopped short as he saw the deviant had reached the top of the staircase and jumped through the large window at the top of the staircase floor just a few feet away. The sound of shattering glass echoed through the warehouse and sharp shards rained down both inside and out of the building as Daniel fled. "Shit! Outside, now!"

Chris and the other responding officers quickly charged outside to locate Daniel, who had made a desperate bid to escape from the police by jumping through the window to try to run. Hank didn't react to the deviant breaking away as his only concern was for Connor who was uncomfortably still in his arms. The shuddering breaths rocked Connor's body as the puddle of lost blue blood under his body continued to blossom at an incredible rate.

Captain Fowler walked over to where Hank was kneeling on the ground with Connor resting up against his injured arm, laying nearly motionless. Reaching down Captain Fowler put his hand on Hank's good shoulder and spoke in a very calm, sympathetic manner as he studied Connor's bloody face. "Technicians are on their way, he'll be okay, Hank."

Hank shook his head as he watched Connor, who was semiconscious and covered in his own blood, continue to twitch slightly and gasp for breath. "I'm not waiting."

Ignoring the searing pain in his wounded shoulder Hank slipped his arm out of the supportive sling and placed it under Connor's legs as he repositioned himself on the floor to put his good arm under the deviant android's back. Pushing through his own pain Hank lifted the dying deviant android, his dying friend, up from the floor and proceeded to carry him in his arms 'bridal style' back through the warehouse to the patrol car outside.

"Damn it, Hank..." Captain Fowler shook his head as he followed after the determined Lieutenant as he carried Connor outside to safety. "Fine, I'll drive!"

* * *

Daniel, who had leapt to his death from the window of the second floor onto the unforgiving concrete ground outside, and had taken Connor captive to be tortured without mercy or reason. The disturbed deviant has taken his own life out of desperation to escape the police, and to avoid an inevitable prison sentence for abducting, torturing, and attempting to kill Connor; a member of the Detroit Police. Outside the warehouse Chris and the other police officers used holographic police tape to section of the scene around the body of Daniel with crime scene projections.

Hank painfully carried Connor's limp, broken body to the nearest squad car with Captain Fowler moving along right behind him. Quickly Captain Fowler opened the rear door of the car and let Hank climb into the back as he continued to hold Connor in his arms. Connor remained unresponsive as his head rested against Hank's good arm while the senior detective kept constant vigil over the damaged deviant android laying in his arms.

"We got you, son. You're going to make it." Hank stated softly was he used his thumb to wipe away a smudge of blue blood from Connor's lip. "You're going to be okay. You're just a little banged up, that's all."

Even if Connor was still conscious he'd be unable to open his eyes or speak as he was simply too physically weak to respond. Connor's systems continued to power down from the amount of damage he had sustained, as well as the massive amount of Thirium loss, making his body become heavier against Hank with each passing second.

Captain Fowler turned on the lights and sirens as he raced from the somewhat isolated locale to the nearest Android Emergency Care Facility as quickly as possible. Communicating with dispatch to keep the roads cleared of traffic and other possible obstacles Captain Fowler focused on the car while Hank focused on Connor in the backseat.

Hank timidly peeled back the fabric of Connor's blood soaked shirt to clearly view the numerous stab wounds, as well as the charred marks on his chest where the metal prongs of the jumper cables had electrically shocked him without mercy. Each wound was painful to look at and continued to steadily seep with escaping Thirium with each beat of Connor's heart.

"Son of a bitch." The senior detective swore as looked at the painful wounds in Connor's chest.

Carefully moving his bad arm from under Connor's legs he pressed his hand down on Connor's chest and felt Connor's heart racing erratically in his chest once again. Without Connor's L.E.D. to signify his current system status Hank could only guess at the severity of his partner's condition. He knew for sure it would be red in color, but he had no idea if it would be cycling quickly from pain or slowly from blood loss.

A weak cough erupted from Connor's lips as blue blood splattered all over his lips and his chest began to seize with his sudden inability to catch his breath. His damaged ventilation biocomponent was shutting down entirely, and the second was ventilation biocomponent struggling to compensate.

"Jeffrey, we need to move faster!" Hank shouted as used his other arm lift to Connor's head higher to help clear his airway to aid his breathing. "He can't breathe."

"Almost there, Hank. Hang on!"

Blood began to ooze from the corners of Connor's mouth again at an alarming rate from the damaged biocomponent in his chest. By all account Connor was suffering from internal hemorrhaging and a collapsed lung like a human would after suffering blunt force trauma, and it frightened Hank to a level he had only felt once before: the night Cole died.

"It's okay, _you're_ okay." Hank kept telling Connor, and himself, over and over again as he held the dying deviant android in his arms as tightly as he could. The tension and pressure in Connor's chest began to mount as his Thirium pump faltered from damage and his low Thirium volume. "Come on Connor, stay with me. Stay with me, son."

"We're here." Captain Fowler called out as he parked the car in front of the facility's emergency doors. A team of four technicians, two humans and two androids, rolled over a gurney as they greeted the car and pulled open the rear door to take care of Connor. "He's been tortured," Captain Fowler shouted as he climbed out of the front of the car to hold the rear door open as wide as possible. "we don't know everything that happened to him, but he was having some kind of seizure when we found him."

The two androids technicians, two of the mass produced 'Jerry' models, easily pulled Connor out of Hank's arms and rested him down on the gurney. After lifting Connor out of the backseat to put on the provided gurney it only took the androids a matter of seconds to remove Connor's jacket and shirt to give the technicians unobstructed access to Connor's chest and torso.

The two human technicians, a middle aged woman with dark hair pulled back into a neat bun with dark green eyes checked the injuries to Connor's chest with her hands by palpating the wounded areas. Meanwhile while the other technician, a young man with short blonde hair and light brown eyes, wrapped what looked like a blood pressure cuff around Connor's right bicep.

Hank stumbled out of the backseat and watched as the team of four fussed over Connor, trying to get his systems as stable as possible before rolling him inside the clinic for treatment. Captain Fowler grabbed onto Hank's arm to keep the Lieutenant back by the car while the team worked.

"Give them a minute, Hank." Captain Fowler asked in a level tone of voice. "You've done everything you can for him, now trust them to do the same."

Connor was wheeled into an emergency treatment room in the depths of the facility for examination. The four technicians hovered all around him protectively and professionally as they assessed his overall damage and possible prognosis.

"His Thirium volume is down to fifty-six percent." The male technician stated as he checked the gauge on the Thirium pressure cuff around Connor's bicep. "Core temperature rising. Currently at one-hundred point two degrees Fahrenheit."

The female used an audioscope to listen to Connor's struggling heart while her partner made notes in an electronic chart. "Thirium pump faltering." Her hand moved the bell across his bloody chest with control and purpose from left, then to the right as she checked his breathing. "Total ventilation failure on the right, minimum functionality on the left." She pulled the audioscope from her ears and motioned to the two androids to assist her. "Insert an airway and begin manual ventilation."

"Airway?" Hank whispered as he watched from the observation window of the treatment room as the first android opened Connor's mouth and began slipping a long transparent flexible tube down Connor's throat. Residual blue foam ran down the side of Connor's face as the tube pushed it aside, and the tube itself came to rest in his throat. "God, it looks just like..."

"Easy Hank." Captain Fowler, who accompanied Hank inside, tightened his grip on Hank's good arm in an attempt to support his worried friend. "It's not like that night, I swear it."

The second android attached a ovular shaped plastic pump, an ambubag, to the end of the tube and began squeezing it to force air into Connor's system. Each manual breath pumped was now doing the work his ventilation system could no longer do, causing his battered chest to rise and fall rhythmically.

"Wheel him into repair bay two." The female technician instructed in a contrastingly calm manner compared to the bloody, dying mess Connor was beneath her hands. "He's going to need extensive repairs, and we need to see what we're dealing with internally. We'll need three pints of Thirium and keep two additional pints on standby."

"Right." The male technician agreed as walked alongside the gurney while the two androids wheeled Connor inside the emergency repair bay, the android equivalent to an operating room, at a hasty clip.

"My name is Emily Dawson." Before entering the repair bay after her patient the female technician stepped out of the exam room and turned to face Hank as she draped the audioscope around her neck. "He's in rough shape. I'm not sure if we can save him, but we'll try everything we can."

"Do what you have to do." Hank nearly blurted as he looked at her with panic in his eyes. "Please. He risked himself to save me."

"I'll do everything I can, I promise."

As Emily rushed inside the repair bay Captain Fowler kept his grip on Hank's arm tight to prevent him from following her. "Take a deep breath Hank, try to calm down."

"Calm down?!" Hank snapped angrily at the suggestion and snarled at Captain Fowler in turn. "Are you fuckin' with me right now?!"

"No, Hank. I'm trying to look out for you." Captain Fowler took Hank's bad arm and carefully placed it back in the sling still hanging limp from Hank's shoulder to keep the limb from getting any worse. "I'm looking out for Connor. You're both my responsibility, _and_ you're my friend Hank."

Hank's demeanor relaxed a little as Captain Fowler spoke to him as a friend, not his commanding officer. "We're not as close as we used to be since the accident, but you're still my friend."

Letting out a deep breath Hank nodded a little and turned on his heel to enter the observation room to check on Connor as the repairs began in the adjacent room. A massive weight in his heart, and on his shoulders, seemed to slow the seasoned detective as he dared to set foot inside the single room that would give him a macabre view of Connor's treatment. Hank forced himself to face the grim reality that could be waiting for him on the other side of the door.

"Damn it, kid. You better pull through."

* * *

The four technicians had taken Connor into the repair bay and were hastily running every scan and test they could possibly perform on the deviant android to identify all of the damage, every injury he had endured during his torture. It was a rapidly growing list of damaged biocomponents and software, but it was a list the team was determined to clear off.

One android focused on keeping Connor breathing, while the other set up a scanner to monitor his systems vital signs. The scanner was similar to a human's cardiac monitor and displayed as such. The two human technicians set about identifying each damaged biocomponent to locate the necessary replacement part or tools required to repair the damage as efficiently as possible.

With Connor laying over the repair table, his body full exposed and covered in dozens of wounds from being tortured, the team proceeded to clean and sterilize the wounds and assess the overall extent of the gruesome damage.

"This will take some time." Emily stated as she slipped a pair of latex gloves over her hands. "But I don't have anywhere to be tonight."

* * *

Hank found himself standing in from of the large viewing window showing the life saving procedure taking place inside the room. He watched as the team fought to save the life of the deviant android who had quickly become his best friend, the deviant android that Hank had taken upon himself to look after as Connor became more and more deviant.

Connor looked so incredibly human at that moment. No L.E.D. in his temple, no jacket with the android insignia on the lapel or band on the sleeve. He even looked somehow paler than normal, just as a human would be when standing on death's door.

The display monitor on the scanner showed Connor's system's internal activity: his Thirium volume, the functionality percentage of his ventilation biocomponents, his thermal regulator, and most importantly his Thirium pump rate. All the numbers were low and and displayed in red to emphasize how critical his condition truly was.

Peering through the window in an unbreakable trance Hank felt his mind drifting back to the night of the accident that had taken Cole's life. It was over three years ago but he still remembered that bleak cold night with vividly morbid detail that plagued his dreams; his nightmares.

Captain Fowler joined Hank at the window and watched as the technicians used special tools and android exclusive equipment to retract Connor's artificial skin to gain access to the interior panels housing his biocomponents in his chest and torso. Lost Thirium pooled over the edge of the table rapidly as it flowed freely from Connor's opened abdomen and chest in a sickening cascade of blue that stained everything a sapphire hue.

An alarm on the scanner sounded off as Connor's Thirium volume began swiftly falling now that his internal panels had been opened, and a shutdown timer appeared on the display next to his heart rate. Connor's life was now hanging by a single, thin thread.

As the alarms went off the team began frantically working to stabilize his condition and replace the Thirium he was losing at a terrifying rate.

"Shit." Hank put his good hand against the window and bowed his head until his forehead was resting against the cool glass. "No... Not him, too."

"Come with me for a moment." A gentle hand on Hank's shoulder guided the detective away from the glass, away from Connor fighting for his life, and to an unoccupied private room a few doors down.

Closing the door behind them Captain Fowler just waited for Hank to begin speaking as the detective paced about anxiously with his good hand pressed against his forehead.

"Jeffrey... I can't deal with this." Hank restrained a sob as he finally admitted how emotionally weak he felt to his friend. "It's like reliving Cole's death, but this time it's not because some jackass doctor is too high to do his job, it's because we didn't... We didn't find him in time!"

"You don't know that, Hank. You can't just give up on him. Not like this."

"I don't want to go through this, Jeffrey. I can't. It's torture! I don't want to lose a friend because some fuckin' machine went crazy! It's not right!"

"You're right, it's not. But regardless of what's right and what's wrong it still happened."

Hank fell back against the wall and slid down the floor with his hand to still pressed to his head. "Jeffrey, I just... can't."

"Yes you can. You just shouldn't have to. No one should. Especially you." Captain Fowler joined Hank on the cold floor of the quiet room and sat beside his friend as the emotional distraught detective steeped in palpable distress. "And that's why I'm going to go through it with you."

* * *

As the deviant android's condition deteriorated further Connor was placed on emergency external power as he was prepared to undergo massive reconstructive excision to repair his damaged body. An artificial external ventilator had taken the place of the deviant android manually keeping air circulating through his ventilation biocomponents. The ventilator was attached to the tube running down Connor's throat by a blue clip much like a ventilator in a traditional hospital. A secondary line, like nasal gastric tube, had been inserted through his nose and down his throat as well to replace the critically needed Thirium he so desperately needed to replenish.

The four technicians were covered in pale blue aprons from chest to knees. Their hands concealed under dark purple latex gloves, and transparent plastic visors shielded their eyes, while paper masks covered their mouths and noses as they set to work. The team began cleaning, repairing and replacing every damaged piece in Connor's broken body to keep the deviant android from shutting down.

The ward itself was so astoundingly similar to an operating room that it made Hank's stomach hurt as he and Captain Fowler returned and watched from the viewing windows high above the main floor of the ward. The sights, the sounds and the smells were all painfully reminiscent to the very hospital where Cole had tragically died.

From where Hank was standing he could see straight down to the emergency procedure taking place below. He could see into Connor's opened chest and abdominal cavities like a gruesome display of android anatomy. From above Hank could see the Thirium pump that was designed analogously like a human heart beating slowly in a pale blue hue, fluctuating to an unhealthy red as his heart struggled to beat with such little Thirium in Connor's body. He could see the ventilation biocomponents shaped like human lungs struggling to draw in the air that Connor needed to keep his systems from overheating. Hank could even see the blue colored Thirium cycling through his system like blood through an artery.

"Jeffrey, I'm going to be sick." Hank flushed an ill shade of pale green and left the observation room in search of the nearest restroom.

Captain Fowler followed behind Hank as the suddenly sick detective located the unoccupied bathroom, shoved the door open and proceeded to throw-up in the first stall after gracelessly falling to his knees. Standing outside the bathroom door Captain Fowler listened and waited for the retching to stop before he entered himself. Seeing Hank sitting on the floor of the first stall with his head in his hand made Captain Fowler feel as bad as Hank looked.

Compassionately Captain Fowler took a paper towel from the dispenser and ran it under the cool tap in the sink. Approaching the ill detective he then handed the damp towel to Hank to take for himself. "How's your head?"

"Feels like someone took an icepick to the side of my skull." Hank admitted as he took the offered paper tower and wiped off his mouth. "...Thanks."

"Hank, I'm worried about your concussion. This much moving around and stress can't be good for your recovery."

"I'm FINE, Jeffrey."

"No, you're not. You're in pain, you're emotionally unstable... Fuck, you held your dying partner in your arms and you took a damn bullet to your skull in less than twenty-four hours. You are NOT fine."

"Leave me alone, I'll deal with it!"

"I'm not going to just let this drop Hank, not this time. You need to face what's going on. I made the mistake of backing off after Cole died-"

"Don't talk about my son!" Hank shot to his feet and put his strong forearm against Captain Fowler's chest to pin him to the wall outside of the stall. "Ever!"

"Hank," Captain Fowler put his hand on Hank's arm to push him away lightly. "I backed off because you asked me to, and I had to watch you spiral down into a dark abyss that I swore was going to drown you in whiskey. But it didn't. You know why?"

Hank scoffed a little at the question. "No, Jeffrey, why? Because I have friends like you watching my back?"

"No, because you have a friend like_ Connor,_ who didn't back down and refused to let you push him away."

Hank let go of Captain Fowler and dropped his arm as his hostility passed as quickly as it come over him.

"I know I was wrong to let you hide in the shadows, and I won't make that mistake again."

Hank's still greenish face suddenly paled and he stumbled forward as he fought to remain conscious where he stood.

"Whoa, whoa!" Captain Fowler put his hands on Hank's good shoulder and chest to support him. "Easy. Let's get you out to the waiting room to sit down. You look like you're ready to pass out." Much to his surprise Hank allowed him to guide the injured detective out of the bathroom, and into the nearest chair in the empty waiting room. Empty, save for Chris and Gavin who had stopped by the clinic to get an update on everything that was happening. "Take a moment to breathe while I bring Reed and Miller up to speed."

Hank only nodded as he sat down heavily and bowed his head forehead. The long locks of gray hair easily covered his face as he leaned forward and tried his best to tune out the world as a whole.

Captain Fowler updated the two officers on the situation while instructing them to return to the precinct to keep everything under control until he returned. Gavin was surprisingly quiet during the whole conversation and obeyed his new orders without the slightest protest, or snarky remark regarding deviants being broken machines and not people. Chris, who had always been loyal and respectful, lightly put his hand to Hank's shoulder as he handed the shaken detective something he picked up from the floor of the warehouse before he left the crime scene.

"Not sure if it still works or not," Chris stated timidly as he stepped back from Hank and gave him space after he delivered the item to Hank's shaking hand. "but I figured he'd want it back even if it doesn't still work. I'll see you later, Lieutenant."

Hank looked down at his palm and stared at the blank, metal disc with a twisting knot forming in his stomach.

It was Connor's L.E.D.

He stared at the dead L.E.D. in the palm of his hand for a only moment longer before tightening his fingers around into a strong fist to hide it from his eyes. Slipping the item into his coat pocket Hank didn't say a word and barely acknowledged the other two officers before they left.

Captain Fowler stayed with Hank throughout the remainder of the evening, and well into the late hour of the night and early hours of the morning. The two detectives were exhausted beyond words, but neither was willing to admit defeat and leave the facility until they received an update on Connor's condition. With his head pressed down heavily into his good hand Hank leaned against the side of the chair to try to rest. "Try" being the key aspect. His eyes were closed but his mind was still racing.

"...Excuse me?" A feminine voice called out to Hank in a calm tone.

Hank's head shot up and through his bleary blue eyes he stared up at Emily. Her apron was stained with dark blue Thirium; Connor's blood. A lingering metallic and plastic odor clung to her hair from the extensive procedure she had performed.

"Yeah?" Hank dared to ask as he became more alert, but didn't budge from his seat. "Is Connor...?"

"He pulled through." She smiled warmly as she motioned for Hank to follow after her. "You can see him now if you want."

Captain Fowler nodded as he let out a silent sigh and visibly relaxed in his seat. "...It's about time."

The weight of the world left his shoulders as Hank smiled with relief and rubbed his hand over his tired eyes to wipe away the tears that were a mixture of grief and fatigue. "Is he awake?" Rising from his chair quickly he eagerly walked along side Emily as she escorted him to the recovery wing where Connor was resting. "He seemed pretty weak."

"No." Emily confirmed as she kept her voice calm. "His system is still in stasis while his self-healing program finishes what we've started."

"How... bad was it?" Hank dared to ask as he noted that Captain Fowler had stayed behind to give him some space, and was now talking on his phone to give an update to the precinct.

"Pretty bad." Her expression became slightly dour as she spoke but she kept a twinge of optimism in her voice. "His Thirium pump suffered numerous electric shocks that caused it to beat irregularly for an extended period of time, his right ventilation biocomponent had been penetrated by a sharp object and failed entirely, while the left suffered minor damage that kept it from running at full capacity. His thermal regulator had also been stabbed, twice. But the damage was insignificant and only caused minor overheating."

"He... lost a lot of blood."

"Yeah, almost four pints. Losing five would've been fatal, but he still pulled through just fine." Emily opened the door to the recovery room where Connor was resting peacefully. The male technician was watching over him and checking his vitals as the duo entered the room. "This is Rob, he helped with the procedure."

"Hi." Hank greeted curtly as he looked down at Connor's surprisingly calm face as he remained unconscious.

The deviant android was laying flat on his back, his head lolled slightly to the left against a soft white pillow. He wasn't as pale as he had been before but, his lip was still swollen with blue blood stains and his right eye was still swollen shut from blunt force trauma. There were temporary bandages wrapped around his chest and abdomen to keep external dirt from infecting the area while his self-healing program repaired the damage to the artificial skin, and plastimetal frame beneath. His right hand was also wrapped up in a high density plastic splint and draped over his chest as the appendage healed after being forcibly broken.

"Shit..."

The bullet to his right knee had destroyed the joint entirely and needed to be replaced. A heavy metal brace with a wrapping of gauze surrounded his knee to protect it until his system fully recalibrated and the self-healing program accepted the new part.

Hank put his hand down on Connor's arm lightly and stood beside his partner's bed. "He looks... a little better."

Rob agreed as he made a note in Connor's electronic chart. "After we replenished his Thirium levels his artificial skin became less translucent, which is why he looked so pale. As for his eye his ocular unit took a severe blow but we managed to repair it. The ocular plate around it had to be replaced entirely and as a result his eye is going to be swollen shut until his system recalibrates for the damage to the eye itself, and recognizes the new plate."

"How long is he going to be unconscious?"

"For a while." Emily admitted as she checked the chart in Rob's hand. "Without his L.E.D. we can't visually monitor his condition, but seeing as most deviants removed their L.E.D.'s after the revolution we found other ways to keep track."

Hank reached into his pocket and held out his hand as he opened his palm to reveal Connor's dead L.E.D. in his grip. "Can you... replace it?"

"Is it the original L.E.D.?" Emily asked as she took the small dull disc from Hank's palm and held it between her thumb and index fingertip.

"Yeah. The asshole who tortured him ripped this from his skull so he couldn't call for help."

"It seems to still be functional." Emily noted as she handed the L.E.D. over to Rob. "We'll replace it in a few minutes. It'd be best to give his body more time to rest after undergoing four hours worth of repairs."

"Four hours? Is that how long I was out there?"

"Want some coffee?" Emily asked sweetly as she put her hand on Hank's forearm lightly. "Maybe an aspirin?"

Ever appreciative of her calm and kind demeanor Hank graciously took her up on her offer. "You're a miracle worker, you know that?"

* * *

Night gave way to early morning and the two exhausted detectives remained quiet in the recovery room as they slept through physical pain, and tried to heal.

Sitting beside Connor's bed with his hand resting on Connor's forearm Hank fell into a very light sleep and remained where he sat for the next nine hours as he refused to leave his partner alone. Once Captain Fowler learned that Connor survived the invasive repair process and would recover in time, he took his leave of the facility to return to the precinct to file his report and bring order to chaos in the light of a deranged deviant attacking two police officers.

Quietly Emily and Rob would check in on Connor without disturbing Hank in the process, and determined that the deviant android was going to make a full recovery in time.

The L.E.D. was repaired and returned to Connor's right temple where is slowly glowed to life and remained a consistent red in response to his systems needing to heal and reboot after enduring such a prolonged repair procedure.

Sleeping very lightly a twitch beneath Hank's hand roused the detective from his sleep and his blue eyes snapped open as he looked to Connor still laying on the bed at his side. "Hey... Connor?"

Connor's left hand was beginning to weakly flex as his systems came back online. The replaced L.E.D. in his right temple glowed a very faint red and cycled very slowly in response to his rebooting processors.

"Connor? Can you hear me?"

The red tinted L.E.D. briefly flashed to yellow then back to red as something in his processors recognized Hank's voice and responded accordingly. Connor's left eye, his undamaged eye, opened partially. His brown iris was still glazed over and unfocused, as he tried to wake up and look at Hank's face.

"Just rest a while, son." The senior detective encouraged in a low voice. "You're going to be okay."

Hank saw Connor reflexively swallow the lingering discomfort in his throat after having two tubes inserted down his throat to aid his recovery during the emergency repair procedure. As Connor tried to speak Hank gently shushed him by tightening his grip on Connor's arm.

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere." Hank's voice was that of a soothing tone as a father would give to his own child. "Rest. You're too weak for me to take you home just yet, son. But I will be able to take you home in time. You're going to be just fine."

Connor's eye blinked slowly as he turned his head slightly in Hank's direction and honed in on Hank's face. The deviant android hoarsely spoke a single sentence as he managed to give Hank a ghost of a smirk from where he was laying. "I knew you'd... find me."

Smiling a little at Connor's response Hank just moved his hand to the top of Connor's hair as the deviant android's good eye closed again and he fell back asleep knowing that Hank was going to be there when he awoke.

* * *

Another eight hours passed by slowly before Connor opened his eyes again and regained consciousness. With a little help from Hank the healing deviant android was able to sit upright on the exam table and underwent a brief examination by the technicians upon seeing his recovery. Once he was given the clear to go home and rest Rob got a wheelchair for Connor and pushed the deviant android to the front doors of the facility and helped him to climb into Hank's car; the vehicle being dropped off as a favor by Captain Fowler himself.

After being given instructions to rest and limit any physical exertion for the next seventy-two hours Connor was finally discharged from the facility and into Hank's care.

During the drive back home Hank's eyes kept drifting up to the rearview mirror so he could look at Connor laying perfectly still on his back across the backseat of the car. The deviant android looked like he was sleeping peacefully, but in reality he was still completely exhausted after undergoing emergency repairs to save his life after being held captive and tortured by a malicious, vengeful deviant. It was a long wait for both Connor and Hank as they patiently awaited the technicians to discharge Connor from the facility to go home at last the following day, but well worth it.

Connor was wearing a generic black t-shirt in place of his ruined white dress shirt and stained, gray jacket, which made him look entirely casual and human. With his right still eye swollen shut it looked as though the deviant android was a young college student who got caught in the middle of a drunken street brawl, and had to be given a ride home to sober up.

Hank was also still healing from his own injuries; a mild concussion and a passing bullet wound to his right shoulder. The senior detective knew that he and Connor had a long road to recovery ahead of them, but he was willing to put up with it as long as Connor remained his partner.

Pulling the car into the drive beside the house Hank turned off the engine and slowly opened his door with his left arm to avoid straining his right arm. Ducking down as he stepped out of the vehicle Hank felt his head swim a little and his right shoulder tense up. Ignoring the perpetual ache that gnawed at his skull the bullheaded detective pulled open the rear door of the car and put his hand on Connor's shoulder lightly.

"Hey, we're back home, kid. Time to wake up."

Connor's left eye opened slowly as he awoke from his exhaustion induced sleep. Slowly, awkwardly, Connor rolled to his left side and pushed himself upright on the seat with one arm. Using his trembling left hand he supported his own weight as best as he could as his gyroscope recalibrated and helped him regain his balance.

Hank offered Connor his good hand to help pull the deviant android out of the vehicle and to his feet, as they both needed a little help getting around for a while until they healed. Though the two shared a mutual weak grip from being drained of their energy after enduring so much trauma in such a small frame of time, neither let the other go as Hank managed to heft Connor out of the car and back to his feet. Hank even managed to help Connor keep his balance as he swayed on his own feet.

"You good to go?" Hank asked as he kept his hand on Connor's shoulder for support.

Connor's throat was still sore from having tubes inserted to help him breathe and replenish his depleted Thirium, making communication a little difficult. Nodding his head instead of speaking Connor tested his balance on his uninjured leg while Hank helped him to limp inside the house where he could finally rest in the comfort of a home and not a facility.

"Easy kid," the senior detective cautioned as Sumo approached his masters and practically blocked the entire front doorway. "don't let yourself fall over. I don't want to take you back to the repair facility."

If it didn't hurt so much to speak, let alone move, Connor imagined he would've laughed at the comment as Hank escorted him over to the couch in the livingroom. It was a short walk that felt a thousand miles long to the two worn out detectives, but it was worth the trip.

Hank guided Connor down against the couch until he was laying flat on his back again to rest. The senior detective then lifted Connor's healing knee up very gently to lay it down over the cushions of the couch while keeping both of Connor's legs perfectly straight to prevent any pain.

"Comfortable?"

Connor nodded again and let out an uncomfortable sigh as he rested his right arm, his broken right hand, over his sore chest. Closing his eyes Connor tried to ignore the pain, forget about being tortured and attempted to relax as much as possible.

"Good. Try to get some more sleep, I'm going to go do the same."

Sumo circled in a small spot between the couch and coffee table before laying down and looking up at the tired deviant android with big sad eyes.

Hank threw off his coat with some difficulty and hung it from the hook by the front door, before taking his seat in the recliner. Exhausted, sore and nursing a concussion Hank was asleep just as quickly as Connor and was more than happy to give way to his exhaustion.

Some time had passed, not enough in Hank's mind, when the sound of Sumo whining and hyperventilated breathing managed to catch the experienced detective's ear. Opening his eyes quickly Hank looked over to the couch where Connor was laying and saw that the deviant android's L.E.D. was flashing between yellow and red rapidly as Connor practically panted in his sleep.

"Connor?" Hank rose from his chair, his shoulder and head protesting at the abrupt motion as he knelt beside the couch next to Sumo, and put his hand against the side of Connor's face. "Wake up! You're having another nightmare."

Connor flinched away from Hank's hand as if terrified and continued to hyperventilate as he endured the horrific dream.

"Wake up, you're safe!" Hank nearly shouted as he lightly returned his hand to Connor's face, just under his left eye. Tears were running down the deviant android's face as he continued to twitch and hyperventilate, his heart pounding in his chest. "Connor?"

Hearing Hank's voice so close to his ear, hearing the tone that Hank was using to speak to him, Connor's left eye opened and he roused entirely from the horrific nightmare that had been plaguing him as he sat upright quickly and immediately gasped in pain at the sudden, jerking movement in his abdomen and chest from doing so.

"Easy, son..." Hank put his hand on the back of Connor's head as the deviant android winced and wrapped both arms protectively around his chest. "You're okay, it was just a nightmare. Just breathe, you're safe. You're safe at home now, it's over."

Another tear fell from Connor's good eye as he slowed his breathing, his heart rate beginning to calm as result. With a desperate stare in his eyes he looked over to Hank with utter fear and confusion shining in his brown irises.

"I know you can't really talk right now," Hank stated calmly as he felt Connor's entire body trembling from residual fear beneath his palm. "but when you're ready to talk about what you dreamt I'm listening."

Connor's shaking left hand reached up and grabbed onto Hank's arm for support. It was like he needed to be sure Hank was really there beside him.

"You're okay, just a little banged up and sore. You'll feel better soon, though. You'll be just fine."

Hesitantly Connor let go of Hank's arm and nodded. Using the back of his shaking hand Connor wiped away the tear from his face and sighed as he caught his breath and settled his nerves. Nodding a few more times to acknowledge Hank's sympathetic words Connor laid back down on the couch to try to relax, but it was clear he wasn't going to be able to fall asleep again anytime soon.

"You know, if you don't want to sleep anymore you don't have to." With a paternal understanding Hank reminded the deviant android in a kind voice, as he pulled his hand back from Connor's head. "I sure as hell know I wouldn't want to go right back to sleep after having a nightmare."

Swallowing once Connor spoke in a hoarse whisper. "...You h-have nightmares?"

"Yeah. All the time."

"...Do you see... their f-faces?"

"...Yeah. I do."

Pressing the heel of his palm to his swollen eye Connor shook his head a little in emotional distress. "...Does it ever go away?"

"In time, yeah. It'll go away."

"I..." Connor cleared his throat a little to strengthen the sound of his voice as he spoke. "I keep seeing his face... I failed to save him."

"Connor, I read the case report." Joining Connor on the couch Hank sat beside the deviant android's legs without disturbing his sore knee. "You talked him down, convinced him to let the little girl go and kept him from hurting anyone else. You did everything right."

"Then why did he... die?"

"Because the S.W.A.T. team decided to pull the trigger. You didn't do it, you didn't even _ask_ them to."

"Why d-did they... shoot? The girl was safe."

"My guess is they decided to shoot to kill LONG before you even got to the scene. Daniel killed the father, killed two responding officers, left a third officer to die and he was willing to kill an innocent child out of a bizarre, overreaction to being replaced. Fuck, as much as we know it's entirely possible that the deviant wasn't going to be replaced at all, and they were just going to have a second android living with them to help with the household."

"...He died, Hank. But my mission was considered a _success_."

"Son, you're not the first person, certainly not the first detective, to watch someone you tried to help die. These memories will haunt us for a long time. Right now the only difference is that your haunting memory actually came back from the dead to try and hurt you."

"...Where is he? Where is Daniel?"

Hank paused momentarily before telling him the truth. "After we found you at the warehouse the deviant, Daniel, panicked again. I don't think he expected us to find him, or more importantly, rescue you. He tried to flee and ended up jumping through a two-story window. He didn't survive the fall."

"Shit." Connor swore as he draped his arm over his eyes.

"Hey, come on." Hank pulled Connor's arm down so he could look him in the eye. "You gave him a chance that no one else did, and he had the chance to go about his life living free with other deviants, but instead he chose to hurt other androids and tried to kill you. He doesn't deserve your pity!"

Connor seemed to understand and nodded very subtly.

"Good." Hank put his hand under Connor's chin and tilted his head so he could get a clear look at Connor's right eye. It was dark blue and very swollen. "That looks painful. Would ice help?"

"...No."

"What about Thirium? Doesn't that stuff kickstart your healing program?"

"My Thirium volume is already at one-hundred percent."

"Well," Hank pulled his hand away from Connor's chin and sat down on the edge of the coffee table away from his legs. "is there anything that will help you feel better quicker?"

"I don't know about better," Connor cleared his throat again as he sat up slowly on the couch, his arm still wrapped protectively around his chest and abdomen as he moved. His left hand was supporting the entirety of his weight as he moved about slowly without aggravating his injuries. "but I can think of something that could theoritectically numb the pain. At least for a while."

"What's that?"

Connor paused for a moment as his L.E.D. blinked yellow a couple times. "...Do you still want to get a drink?"

"Are... Are you serious? All these months later you want to have a drink?

"Yes."

"Wait, I thought alcohol doesn't affect androids."

"It doesn't have any impairments on androids like it does humans. It dilutes Thirium, but we don't get drunk. But as a deviant... I believe it could have some value on a different scale."

"Alright kid, if you're sure."

Again Connor nodded. "Yes. I would like to try it."

"Okay, but don't tell Fowler." Hank joked as he stood up slowly and stepped around Sumo as he walked into the kitchen. There was a single bottle of whiskey located in a cupboard above the sink, next to the additional bottles of Thirium that Hank now kept in stock for Connor. The whiskey had been purchased on the night of the revolution after Hank was suspended for punching federal agent Richard Perkins, but he was unable to enjoy the whiskey as he was interrupted by Connor's 'evil twin' and taken to CyberLife Tower as a hostage. "Fowler doesn't need to know about you picking up any of my 'bad habits'."

Connor smirked a little as Hank returned with an unopened bottle of whiskey and two small glasses. Sitting the items down on the coffee table Hank sat down next to Connor as the deviant android pulled his legs away and propped his reg leg up on the coffee table to heal properly. Hank's sore shoulder still aching with every movement he made, just like Connor's rebuilt knee, but like Connor he wasn't complaining.

"Last chance to change your mind, son."

"I'm certain Hank. It can't hurt me... I think."

"Okay then." Hank grabbed the whiskey bottle and with some difficulty screwed opened the top.

Connor noted that the bottle had been purchased several months prior but hadn't been opened until that very moment. "You've cut down considerably on your drinking."

"Yup." Hank poured the whiskey into the first glass, then filled the second. "I had a pretty good reason to stay sober over the past few months. Figured I'd save it for a special occasion." The senior detective handed the first glass over to Connor then picked up the second for himself. "And I'd say you defying death is about as special as it can get."

With his left hand Connor accepted the glass and stared at the tea colored contents for a moment before he held it to his lips. Connor instinctively ran a quick scan and noted the potent alcohol content within, as well as the various ingredients used in the recipe.

"Here's to your health, and to my sanity." Hank declared as mirrored the same motion as Connor for his own glass and prepared to down the shot of whiskey. "Cheers!"

The two detectives simultaneously downed the whiskey quickly. Hank set his empty glass down on the table right alongside Connor and watched the deviant android's reaction.

"Well?"

"Curious taste." Connor stated as his L.E.D. blinked yellow again and he rubbed his fingers along his sore throat. "...Similar taste to that of Thirium."

"Ah, why'd you tell me that!" The grimace on Hank's face told the whole disgusted story about the idea of drinking android blood.

"It was a joke." Connor admitted as his L.E.D., for the first time since the night before he was attacked in the alley, turned blue. "I promise."

Shaking his head a little Hank had to laugh at the comment and leaned back against the couch cushions. Sumo lifted his head and rested his chin on Hank's thigh while the senior detective rubbed at the loyal dog's ears.

Connor looked down at his right hand and carefully removed the splint keeping his damaged appendage stable. Gingerly he flexed his fingers until his hand created a tight fist then relaxed it again.

"My hand has already healed." Reaching into his jean pocket he pulled out the quarter that he frequently fidgeted with and gracefully rolled the coin over the back of his knuckles. "And my reflexes have not been stunted by my injury."

"Yeah? Well don't expect to go back to work tomorrow just because your hand is good to go. You need to learn how to relax a little, Connor. Enjoy a day off, go on vacation. Do something other than work, and wait to go back to work."

Flipping the coin in the air with his thumb Connor caught it easily in his palm without even looking before he returned it to his pocket. "I do not have any experience with vacations."

"It's easy. You just do anything BUT work. Like this." Hank kicked his feet up on the coffee table beside Connor and closed his eyes. "See?"

Connor mirrored Hank's movements, careful of jostling his bad knee in the process, and immediately felt Sumo pressing his cold nose against the side of his hand.

"Yes, I see. It is easy." Placing his hand atop Sumo's head he rubbed the Saint Bernard's ears affectionately.

"Now do this for another week or two, then you can go back to work."

"I think I can manage that. But only for two days."

"...It's a start."

_**-next chapter-**_


	10. Hacked

Through the one way mirror of the interrogation room Connor and Hank watched as Gavin attempted, and failed, to interrogate a female deviant displaying erratic and criminal behavior. The deviant suspect had broken into an Android Emergency Care Facility and stolen a dozen bags of Thirium, and had then been found wandering about aimlessly in the parking lot behind the facility covered from head to toe in the illegally obtained blue blood. She was arrested on the spot and put up a bit of struggle which resulted in her being watched very carefully by every available officer.

While Gavin was certain the deviant suspect had stolen the Thirium to make a profit on the black market for replacement android parts, Connor and Hank were unconvinced. Her motivations were unfounded in the light of the revolution and impending android rights, and since she wasted the Thirium on herself in a very strange manner theft for profit didn't add up.

Quiet and curious Hank sat in the chair of the observation room with his arms folded across his chest and his eyes transfixed on the deviant suspect as if analyzing a work of art. "I don't think she's a black marketeer. Why break into a care facility to steal only one type of item and then completely waste it on herself?"

"I agree." Connor was sitting next to Hank with his hands folded neatly on his lap with the same patience. "She is exhibiting behavior that it too abnormal for anyone who is attempting to commit a crime for profit. Not only that, but with the numerous repair facilities now operating in the city there is no need to purchase spare parts or blue blood on the black market any longer."

"What're you thinking?"

"I believe the deviant is suffering from a software malfunction resulting in her bizarre behavior."

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he ran through the numerous possible causes for her behavior regarding any and all program anomalies. The blonde haired female deviant suspect had one blue eye and one brown eye. She was still covered in the dark blue Thirium that had only begun to dry and wouldn't begin to properly evaporate for another six hours. Her L.E.D. had been red in color since she was found and remained as such throughout her entire arrest.

Hundreds of tiny internal fractures over her face, arms, chest and legs had long since healed over the past four years, and she had suffered repeated physical trauma to a majority of her internal biocomponents. Many of her Thirium lines were also loose and leaking as if she had taken a horrible fall or had been thrown down to a hard surface.

"She has been severely damaged in the past, perhaps the damage was intracranial as well as cosmetic. If the damage affected her hardware it could explain her behavior and maybe her motivation for breaking into the facility."

"Think you can talk to her and figure out what's going on?"

"I can make an attempt to do so. But if she's too unstable she will attempt to self-destruct."

Hank leaned back in his chair and watched as Gavin grew too impatient to continue questioning the deviant suspect and stormed out of the interrogation room like a temperamental toddler. The deviant suspect remained silent where she sat, but she was visibly trembling as if freezing cold or absolutely terrified.

Gavin got up from his chair and stormed out of the interrogation room to enter the observation room in an annoyed huff. Rejoining Hank and Connor in the observation room Gavin angrily stood against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest bitterly. "Damn piece of plastic won't talk. It's fuckin' crazy! We're wasting our time with this one."

"She's not crazy." Connor refuted calmly from where he sat. "She's damaged."

"Same thing dumbass."

Hank had enough of Gavin singling out Connor, and other androids, and put a stop to it. "Knock it off Gavin. I'm tired of your bullshit."

"Think you can do better?"

"I think _Connor_ can do better." The senior detective stubbornly argued as he gave the arrogant Sergeant an embittered glare. "He's made progress with deviants in the past, let him at least try with her."

"Sure, fine." Gavin begrudgingly agreed to let Connor question the deviant suspect. "Let the 'plastic-wonder' talk to the 'plastic-freak'."

Connor silently stood up from his chair, ignoring Gavin's insults, and exited the observation room and entered the interrogation room right next door. Watching through the one way mirror Hank and Gavin observed Connor as he took a seat across from the deviant suspect and began speaking to her in a very neutral tone of voice to try to get her to talk.

Scanning over the deviant carefully Connor noted that the deviant suspect's system was operating at half power, yet her core temperature was much higher than what was considered optimal, if not normal, for any android. Her entire body was trembling as if her gyroscope was malfunctioning causing her to lose balance despite sitting down, and her inability to respond to basic questions indicated a substantial degradation of her basic neurological programming.

"You appear to be in need of repair." Connor noted in a gentle voice. "Is that why you broke into the facility?"

The deviant suspect's mismatched eyes looked to Connor but didn't focus on him. It was like she was looking through him, instead of at him.

"You stole only Thirium. What were you going to use it for?"

Pointing to her brown eye the deviant suspect seemed to be somewhat lucid and trying to communicate with Connor.

"Your eye?" Connor noted the mismatched irises and continued to question her as he ran a scan. Her blue eye matched her serial number, while the brown eye belonged to another android's serial number. "Was it damaged? "

"My eye..." She muttered in a slurred voice as her first verbal response. "is n-not brown. My eye... is bl-blue."

"You suffered damage that required a replacement of your left ocular biocomponent." Connor looked at the scarring on the artificial skin and plastimetal frame around the brown eye. "You wish to have both of your eyes blue again. Is that it?"

"Thirium... is blue."

Connor's brow furrowed with confusion at her logic. "Were you attempting to... dye your brown iris blue?"

"...Die?" The deviant slurred again. "Don't... want to die."

"You're _not_ going to die." He tried to reassure her as he continued the interrogation. "We just want to know why you stole the Thirium."

"...Hot."

"Yes, I have detected that your system is beginning to overheat. Your core temperature is one-hundred and three point three degrees Fahrenheit. Are your ventilation biocomponents damaged or malfunctioning?" Connor tried to gauge the deviant suspect's reaction as he spoke. "Perhaps we can assist you, but you must talk to us. Why did you break into the facility and steal Thirium?"

"...Humans. They did this... to me."

"I don't understand." Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow inquisitively as he spoke with the suspect. "What did the humans do to you?"

"...Pain. I... c-can't take it... Not anymore."

The deviant suspect suddenly grabbed onto Connor's wrist, her artificial skin receded and she connected her mind directly to Connor's in a matter of seconds. Flashes of confusing images, blurry warning text, error messages and a jumble of incompatible coding entered Connor's programming against his will causing him to flinch and close his eyes as a searing pain entered his head; his L.E.D. flashed red in response to the intense discomfort as he tried and failed to pull his arm away from the suspect.

As the deviant suspect held onto Connor's left wrist she suddenly began to twitch in her seat, her entire body jerking as if suffering from a seizure where she sat at the table.

Hank and Gavin had watched the horrifying ordeal through the observation room's window and ran into the interrogation room to deal with the deviant suspect while Connor endured whatever it was the suspect had done to him. The senior detective grabbed onto the suspect's arm and struggled to release her firm grip from Connor's arm.

"Get her in a cell!" Hank commanded as he finally pried her hand from Connor's arm. "Do it now!"

Gavin tried to pull the deviant suspect to her feet but he couldn't get a hold of her twitching arm long enough to do so.

"Connor?" Hank freed his partner's arm and looked at the deviant android with deep concern as he sat back in the chair barely moving. Connor's eyes were shut tight as if he were suffering from terrible pain that he couldn't comprehend, and was unable to respond. "Look at me! You're okay."

Connor shook his head in disagreement. "No... She's-"

The deviant suspect abruptly shot up from her seat and snatched the gun from the holster on Gavin's hip with malicious intent. She quickly took aim at the human's heart before he had a chance to react to what had just happened. As the deviant suspect pulled the trigger, the entire event taking place in a matter of seconds, Connor's eyes snapped open as he leapt over the table and tackled the deviant suspect to the floor causing the bullet to miss Gavin and lodge itself in the concrete wall behind him.

"Whoa!" Gavin jumped back in shock as he watched Connor wrestle with the deviant suspect on the floor to wrest the gun from her hand. "What the fuck?!"

Hank joined Connor on the the floor and tried to restrain the deviant suspect's arms, but she pulled her hand free and pointed the barrel of the gun directly at her own Thirium pump in her chest and pulled the trigger again. There was a loud 'bang' followed by a sudden splash of dark blue blood all over the suspect's chest and over the two detectives' faces.

"Holy shit!" Hank rested on his knees as he looked down at deviant suspect who just committed suicide before him. A thick puddle of Thirium blossomed from her chest and spilled out all over the floor around her body in a sapphire spill. "What the hell was wrong with her!?"

Quietly Connor was sitting upright on the floor beside Hank, his hand pressed to left eye as if it were causing him great pain.

"Connor?" Hank put his hand on Connor's shoulder just as the deviant android suddenly fell backward and began twitching in the same way as the deviant suspect had done moments before. "Oh, fuck! Connor? Connor!" Hank knelt over Connor and pressed his hands firmly down on both of the deviant android's shoulders to hold him as still as possible on the floor as he looked up at Gavin and gave the stunned Sergeant a new order. "Gavin! Get the station technician from the dispensary, we have an officer down in here!"

"Y-Yeah..." Gavin came to his senses and backed out of the interrogation room to look for help for Connor.

"Connor? Look at me, son!" Hank commanded as he watched with horror as Connor continued to seize before his eyes. "Try to fight it! Focus!"

The twitching suddenly stopped and Connor took in deep, fast breaths to try to cool his overheating systems. His eyes were open but unfocused and glazed over as they stared blankly at the ceiling above.

"Connor?" Hank spoke softly as he lessened his tight grip on the deviant android's shoulders. "You're going to be okay."

The precinct technician, Joel Forest, raced into the room with a heavy technician's satchel over his shoulder and with Gavin right behind him. Taking a knee beside the downed deviant android Joel opened the bag and pulled out an item that looked unexpectedly similar to that of a stethoscope. The instrument was called an 'audioscope' and allowed technicians to listen to an android's internal biocomponents like a doctor would do for a human patient as the device was strong enough to register sounds through thick plastimetal framing.

"What happened?" Joel asked coolly as he loosened the tie around Connor's neck, peeled back his jacket and pulled open the top buttons on Connor's shirt to expose his chest to begin a routine examination.

"The deviant suspect did something to him." Hank replied just as calmly as he stayed beside his downed partner. "She grabbed his arm then started having some kind of meltdown." Hank then pointed to the fresh bullet hole in the wall just beside the door. "She tried to kill Gavin before she turned the gun on herself and committed suicide."

Joel placed the ear buds of the audioscope into his ears before placing the bell down against the upper left portion of Connor's chest to listen. "His Thirium pump is still active and cycling at a normal rate." Gently he tilted Connor's head to the left and examined the L.E.D. cycling in red in his right temple. "Systems are still online as well."

"What did she do to him?"

"I need to run a full diagnostic to figure out what the hell happened to him." Joel put the audioscope back into his bag and pulled a small radio from his belt to request a gurney in the interrogation room to get Connor up to the precinct dispensary. "It shouldn't take too long."

"Oh, fuck..." Gavin watched from the open doorway with visible fear in his eyes. "That crazy bitch didn't actually kill him, did she? Fuck!"

"No." Joel confirmed as he snapped his fingers near Connor's ears causing the deviant android to flinch slightly and turn away from the sound. "Auditory sensors still functioning." As he waved his hand over Connor's eyes he watched the deviant android's pupils lack of response studiously. "Visual sensors appear to be malfunctioning at the moment."

Hank rubbed at his bearded chin thoughtfully. "Connor acted like he was in pain before he had that... seizure, or whatever you want to call it. The suspect claimed to be in pain, too, before she freaked out."

"Pain is normal for deviants, but if it was the pain that caused the suspect to act so violently I'll check Connor's programming once I get him up into the dispensary for a proper examination."

A gurney was wheeled into the room by two other technicians apprenticing under Joel, who were unsure of what to think when they saw the dead deviant on the floor covered in her own blood and a massive bullet wound in her chest. Gavin stepped aside and watched as the two apprencticing technicians lifted Connor up from the floor by his shoulders and legs and placed him down on the gurney very carefully.

"Gavin, have the deviant's body taken to the morgue for now." Hank instructed as he and Joel followed the gurney out of the room. "And get someone to clean up this mess."

"Yeah... On it." Glancing at the body, the gun still clutched in her limp hand and then to the bullet hole in the wall beside the doorway Gavin felt himself pale and his heart race a little. "Piece of crazy plastic tried to kill me..."

* * *

Once in the dispensary only one floor up Hank watched as Joel and his apprentices began running every possible diagnostic protocol over Connor's entire system: checking every program, looking through the stability of his software and the integrity of his hardware without skipping over anything in the process. Despite the lack of evidence the small team also checked make sure none of his biocomponents or his intracranial processor had been damaged either.

Curiously Hank watched as Connor's soulful brown eyes blinked slowly and his L.E.D. beneath the thick, black diagnostic cable finally cycled back from red to yellow. Blue was preferable, but at this point Hank would take any color over red, or worse, no color at all.

Joel made a note in Connor's electronic file and walked over to his terminal in the corner at the far wall. "No anomalies detected. If anything she just projected her pain onto him and it resulted in his system overreacting. He hasn't been deviant that long, so I'm not surprised he had such a strong reaction to the sense of pain. He'll be just fine in a few hours, Hank."

"Thank fuck." Relieved to know his partner would pull through the senior detective leaned over the table to address the deviant android in low voice. "Connor? Can you hear me?"

The deviant android slowly lifted his head up to look around as his blurry vision began to clear and he was finally able to see again. "...Lieutenant? Why am I in the dispensary?" It was then Connor felt the diagnostic cable attached to his L.E.D. on his right temple. "Did I... go offline?"

"We're not sure yet, but we'll find out soon. What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was interrogating a deviant suspect. A female, with blonde hair; one eye blue and the other brown."

"What else?"

"She... did something." Connor looked down at his left arm and remembered her grabbing onto him as she uploaded something into his program. "Virus."

"Virus?"

"Yes. She was infected with a virus." Connor sat up slowly on the exam table and looked over at Hank as Joel approached the exam table he was placed upon while unconscious. "It came from the brown ocular unit that was used to replace her original blue one."

Joel unhooked the cable from Connor's L.E.D. as he used a penlight to examined Connor's own eyes and pupils. "Visual sensors fully functional."

"Yes." Connor confirmed as he looked to the technician and locked eyes. "I believe I know what happened to the deviant."

"Oh?"

"Check the biocomponent compatibility of her ocular units. If I'm correct the deviant had been unknowingly, possibly unintentionally, infected with a virus when she was given an incompatible ocular unit. But she also escaped an abusive household, so the damaged ocular unit being used could've also been a predetermined form of assault by the abuser."

"Whoa, whoa." Hank was still struggling to understand the technicalities of android physiology. "She went nuts because of her replacement_ eye_?"

"Correct."

"Alright, I'll bite. How?"

Joel answered on Connor's behalf as he knew how to simplify things for the senior detective in comparison to Connor's more complicated answers. "Android biocomponents are designed for specific models to ensure their programming operates correctly. And each part must be checked to ensure there are no viruses, or malware, that's why black marketeering of android spare parts is so dangerous." The technician continued his explanation as he continued to monitor Connor's condition. "If an android is given an incompatible part, something that their program is unable to recognize, their systems go haywire and begin to reject the replacement part. Since it was the deviant's ocular unit that was affected her visual sensors were compromised and her system's warnings couldn't be properly read, and so the virus went unchecked until it was far too late."

Hank nodded his head with sincere understanding. "That's what she meant when she said she wanted her brown eye tinted blue again. She wanted to get a proper replacement but she couldn't communicate what was wrong with her."

Connor sighed despondently in response to Hank's assessment. "Correct. I should've understood what she meant. I could've saved her."

"Don't worry about it." Hank insisted calmly as he tried to ease Connor's guilt. "We can't save everyone, no matter how hard we try."

Joel briefly walked over to his computer then returned to Connor to give him an official slip to clear him for duty. "The evidence lines up." He unclipped the cable from Connor's temple and gave him a reassuring nod. "I detected traces of the same virus in your own programming, but I removed it before it could do any permanent damage. You're completely healthy, detective."

Hank offered his hand to Connor to pull him off the table and onto his feet. "You may not have been able to save her, but you did save Gavin today."

"I see." Connor began rebuttoning his white dress shirt when a mildly mischievous smile appeared on his face. "Are you mad?"

Hank patted Connor's shoulder with good humor as he escorted his partner out of the dispensary to return to work. "Not really. It took you saving his sorry ass for him to finally refer to you as something other than a 'piece of plastic'. Maybe he'll finally come around."

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't count on it." Connor knotted his black tie around his neck neatly, tightening it as he and Hank walked into the elevator together. "Not everyone can have the same change of heart on androids as you had toward me."

"I don't know about that, kid." Hank tilted his head a little as the elevator doors slid shut behind them. "Stranger things have happened..."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	11. Restrained

A bust at an illegal android trafficking ring went unexpectedly wrong. The humans who were running the ring and selling off the abducted deviants to the highest bidders for use as manual labor or sexual gratification barely managed to flee the warehouse when the police busted through the door, but unfortunately for Connor; the only android who aided in the bust, he didn't walk away unscathed or at all in that manner.

Everything was a dark aching blur as his senses slowly returned to him and his system rebooted. Opening his eyes he was greeted by blurry, gray visions as his visual processors slowly recalibrated and showed him the world around him.

"...Where... am I?"

Trying and failing to sit up from where he was laying, a cold hard surface, Connor felt secure straps around his wrists, his ankles, over his chest, his stomach and over his forehead. Running a scan over his environment Connor noted that he was still in the warehouse, but he was now in a concealed storage room in the rear of the building. There was no sign of damage from his self-diagnostic or from what he could feel, but Connor knew something had rendered him unconscious the moment he and the police broke through the front doors.

"Hello?" Calling out loudly Connor tried to get the attention of someone inside the warehouse to come to his aid. "Hank? Chris? I need some help!"

"Shut up." An unknown and aggressive male voice ordered as he loomed over Connor. "Those asshole pigs ruined my stock, but since you're a rare model you'll be a nice compensation for my loss."

"Androids don't exist for your personal gain." Connor retorted as his blue L.E.D. shifted to a cautious yellow. "It's slavery and illegal."

"Owning plastic isn't illegal."

"It is if the 'plastic' is declared a living person."

"You're not alive. You're just a human shaped lie."

"You need to let me go now. I work with the Detroit Police Department, and you have now assaulted an officer and-"

"I said shut up." Putting a strip of duct tape over Connor's mouth the man was able to silence him quickly. "You know how easy it is to make androids disappear? How much people will pay for an obedient, tireless slave? You cost me a fortune with your little bust, but I will make my money back."

From behind his back, tucked in his belt, the man revealed a large hunting knife and brandished the sharp, six inch blade before Connor's eyes.

"I get the feeling you'll be too stubborn to reset and wipe your memory, but..." Using the knife the man cut open the buttons on Connor's dress shirt and exposed his abdomen. "if I inflict a little damage your system won't be able to protect your memory while fighting to keep you from bleeding out."

Connor's brown eyes went wide and his yellow L.E.D. went red. Struggling in vain against the strong, metallic straps holding him to the metal table in the dimly lit warehouse's hidden storage room Connor could only watch and feeling as the delusional man dragged the tip of the knife down his stomach, and quickly drew a stream of blue blood from within the fresh laceration. Groaning and struggling against the restraints as much as possible and sent out a cybernetic distress call in hopes of someone, anyone, hearing his pleas and coming to his rescue.

"I like it when you freaks put up a fight." Cutting deeply into Connor's artificial skin until the tip of the blade gauged a thin scar down into the white plastimetal frame beneath the man evidently enjoyed hurting androids. Pulling back his bloodied knife the man watched as Connor's red L.E.D. flashed rapidly and Connor still trying to break free of the restraints.

"Relax. As soon as I carve a little hole in your thermal regulator your healing program will take over and give me the window I need to erase your memory. You won't remember this night, or any of the nights before it..."

Watching in absolutely horror as the man lifted the knife up high into the air Connor tried to call out but the duct tape over his mouth left him muted, and the restraints left him defenseless.

"It was nice knowing-"

"FREEZE!" Hank's voice boomed through the room as he and the other responding officers on the bust joined him. "Drop the knife, NOW!"

The man turned around quickly and the knife practically flew from his hand as he stared down the eight gun barrels now pointing at him.

"You're under arrest, asshole." Hank holstered his gun while Chris approached the man and took his handcuffs from the side of his belt to secure the man's wrists behind his back. "Let's see how well you handle being bound and locked up. Get his ass out of here!"

"With pleasure, Lieutenant."

Hank rushed over to the table where Connor was restrained and bleeding heavily to check on the wounded deviant. "I gotcha' son!"

Connor's eyes filled with tears of relief as Hank peeled the tape from his mouth and then worked to free him from the restraints. "...Hank."

"Right here."

"What..." Grimacing and wincing as the pain in his abdomen suddenly flared up Connor just stared at Hank's face in total confusion. "What happened?"

"We kicked down the doors and the assholes in charge of this place set off some type of E.M.P. that took down every android in a two block radius." Hank explained as he freed Connor's head, chest and wrists from the painful restraints. "We didn't know what happened until I saw that you were missing and the other androids in the area were all suddenly down for the count."

"How did you find me?"

"Your cybernetic S.O.S. reached a late night security android just out of the area of the E.M.P., and he told us you were still in the warehouse, trapped and hurt. While double-checking the area Chris noticed a door hidden in the back of the warehouse that wasn't supposed to exist and here we are..."

"Thank you."

"Don't move." Freeing Connor's ankles and then his stomach from the restraints Hank helped Connor to sit up slowly and eyed the bleeding wound. "Fuck, he got you good. What was he trying to do to you?"

"He was going to affect my memory and damage vital biocomponents to make the memory loss permanent. He was going to sell me for profit. "

"It's okay, son. _You're_ okay."

"Yes." Tentatively pressing his palm to his bleeding abdomen Connor winced again and let out a hissing breath of pain as his L.E.D. briefly flashed a rapid red, then cycled back to a wary yellow, then back to its calm blue. "I_ am_ okay. But I still think I should allow a technician to bandage up my wound."

"Yeah, good plan. Come on." Offering Connor his hand Hank pulled the deviant off the table and onto his feet. Letting Connor rest against his side a little Hank escorted his wounded partner out of the warehouse and of the deranged man's makeshift lab. "Let's get you cleaned up and back home to rest. We found all the other androids and got them to safety, and all of the guilty parties have been arrested."

"I'm glad." Pressing his hand over his abdomen to stem the bleeding Connor happily let Hank led him outside. "I'd hate to think the traffickers were still roaming the streets."

_**-next chapter-**_


	12. Muted

The morning seemed normal for Connor and Hank as they went about their usual routines whenever they had a day off, but normalcy soon gave way to a strange experience as Connor tried and failed to utter a single word and communicate with Hank. Curiously Connor ran a self-diagnostic and was greeted with an unidentified error regarding his voice modulator. Locating Hank in the kitchen Connor put his hand on Hank's shoulder to get his attention as the senior detective poured himself a cup of coffee, and then pointed to his throat with his other hand.

"What's up, kid?" Hank sipped his coffee then stared at Connor's throat as the deviant android's L.E.D. flickered a distressed yellow. "Are you hurt?"

Connor nodded a little and tapped his fingers against his throat.

"You can't speak?"

Shaking his head 'no' Connor confirmed Hank's question.

"Shit. Alright, let's get you to a technician and see what the problem is, okay?"

Nodding again Connor agreed to see a technician and correct the unknown error that had left him mute.

* * *

Despite his disdain for going to facilities for treatments Connor had no choice but to let a technician examine his throat and figure out why he suddenly couldn't speak, or locate the error. The sight of a familiar face, one of a friend as Connor had encountered her numerous times, Dr. Abby Grayson, made him feel a little more at ease.

"Well, the diagnostic can't identify the problem..." Abby stated as she pulled the black cable from the deviant's right temple and off his L.E.D. still glowing a nervous yellow. As she did she noticed a steady heat radiating from Connor's skin and resisted checking his temperature for just a moment. "So I'm going to have to do this in a little more old-school style."

Connor's brow arched while Hank, who was staying beside Connor to help his partner communicate when necessary, asked what she meant. "How does someone go 'old-school' on a deviant's physical exam?"

"Like you would with any person with a sore throat." Pulling a penlight from her lab coat pocket Abby clicked it on and gave Connor a faint grin. "Open your mouth and let me look down your throat."

Without any protest Connor opened his mouth and let Abby shine her light down his throat. She examined the affected area with a keen eye for a few seconds and seemed to find her answer, and clicked off her light. Sitting still Connor closed his mouth and gave her a curious stare.

"Alright, I think I figured it out."

"What's wrong with him, Abby?" Hank was just as eager to know what was happening as Connor was.

"It looks like Connor has contracted that's known as 'Groupware Blight v3.0', or in simpler terms; android strep throat.

"Whoa... he has _strep throat_?"

"Yup." Pressing her palm over Connor's forehead Abby confirmed his elevated core temperature, very much like a human having a fever, and made a few notes in his electronic chart. "Unlike humans androids can't contract any bacterial infections, but they can contract literal viral infections fairly easily. This particular virus interferes with Connor's system being able to produce the proper disinfectant in the back of his throat to keep his air intake line clear, and to remove any possible contaminants after sampling evidence at a crime scene. Until the program recognizes and removes the virus Connor's throat is going to be inflamed from the lack of a properly sterilized air intake line, and his voice modulator is going to be compressed under the inflamed line until the virus is removed."

"Why didn't his system figure this out for himself?"

"The virus is quite new and Connor's system will need to do an update on his self-diagnostic and self-healing programs in order to detect it."

"Great, just great. How can we help him until he heals?"

"Warm Thirium with a tablespoon of a special disinfecting compound I'll give you to take will keep his throat from hurting, and help remove the physical abnormalities from the virus itself."

Connor bowed his head with irritation as his L.E.D. stayed yellow.

"It's okay, kid." Hank put his hand on Connor's shoulder in a supportive manner. "It's not the end of the world."

Abby walked over to a glass storage cabinet on the far wall and pulled out a clear plastic bottle containing a bright blue liquid contained inside. Handing the bottle over to Connor to take Abby gave him a sympathetic stare. "This should help you regain your voice in a day or two. Just drink two cups of warmed Thirium with a tablespoon of this mixed in twice a day. It'll help."

Nodding again as he took the bottle of android education Connor slipped off the table and gave Hank a forcibly silent glance.

"Oh, one other thing." Abby quickly piped up as the two detectives prepared to leave the facility to return home. "He's running a little hot, so treat it like you would a fever so he doesn't suffer any permanent damage from prolonged overheating. AND, do NOT come into contact with other androids until you're well again."

"Right." Hank didn't sound too worried as he and Connor left the exam room together. "That won't be too much of a problem, right?"

Unable to speak Connor just nodded as he held the bottle of medicine in his hands.

"Let's get you back to the house so you can lay on the couch with Sumo and do your update thingy."

* * *

Begrudgingly and somewhat childishly Connor pouted on the couch as he waited for Hank to finish warming up some Thirium in a mug with the prescribed dose of the medication mixed into it. Sumo was cuddled up on his lap and was wagging his tail lightly as Connor rubbed Sumo's ears lightly. Exhausted from his system being affected by the virus Connor could only sit and wait for Hank to help him.

"Here ya' go, kid." Passing over a dark blue coffee mug to the deviant Hank sat down on the couch beside him and tossed a pack of ice wrapped up in a hand towel onto the coffee table. "I warmed up some Thirium in a sauce pan like I used to do with Cole's baby formula, so it won't be too hot to drink."

Connor gave Hank a confused glance as if he wanted to tell the senior detective that he didn't need to be taken care of like an infant, but he still couldn't say a word. Staring down at the warm Thirium in the mug he held in his hand Connor let out a silent sigh and slowly drank it down, the noticeable flavor of the medicine leaving a horrible aftertaste didn't do much to lighten the ill deviant android's mood.

"Why don't you lay down for a while and let that update do its job?"

Finishing off the Thirium with a disgusted face Connor put the now empty mug down on the coffee table beside the ice and pointed to the curious bag of wrapped up ice with a single finger.

"Abby said to treat you like you're running a fever. So," standing up again Hank put his hands on Connor's shoulders to push the deviant back down over the cushion to lay down, and made Sumo scooch aside to make room. With Connor now laying down with his head against the pillow tucked up against the armrest of the couch Hank placed the ice pack over the deviant android's warm forehead and took a step back. "I'm going to treat you like you're running a fever."

Unable to protest all Connor could do was give Hank an annoyed glance as his yellow L.E.D. pulsed slowly in his temple.

"Don't give me that look. It's not that you can't take care of yourself, kid. It's that you don't have to right now."

The confused glance shifted to one of utter puzzlement.

"What I mean is," explaining himself a little more clearly Hank walked away from the couch and over to the recliner to sit down. "if you're sick or injured I'm going to help you feel better instead of needing to suffer through it alone. Get it?"

Connor nodded slowly and is L.E.D. returned to a calm blue.

"Good. Now go to sleep and let your program thing update. The ice will keep you from overheating, and I'll watch over you until you wake up."

There was a hesitation in Connor's behavior as he was unsure about going through with the updates and being vulnerable in his rest mode.

"I'm serious, son. Go to sleep, you'll be fine. I'm not going anywhere until you're well again. I promise. Okay?"

Obediently Connor closed his eyes and soon fell into a necessary deep rest mode to activate the necessary program updates. Connor's chest began to rise and fall with a steady breathing pattern as he fell asleep, and soon Sumo was resting his chin over Connor's chest as the massive dog kept vigil over his android master.

"Good dog, Sumo. We'll both watch over him until he gets better."

_**-next chapter-**_


	13. Sensory Deprivation

It was a relatively quiet evening at the precinct until Gavin and Chris returned to the station with an obnoxious and violent drunken human male in custody. Loud, belligerent and ready for a fight, the drunk man proceeded to yell and struggle against the two officers dragging him through the precinct to sleep it off in the drunk tank adjacent to the standard cells.

"Hey, hey!" Chris shouted as he fought to keep a grip on the flailing drunk man's arm alongside Gavin. "Calm down!"

"YOU calm down..." The drunk slurred as he continued to resist arrest and violently swing his cuffed arms behind his back. "Shut up! Pig!"

Gavin was getting far too annoyed to handle the situation any longer and asked for a little back-up. "A little help please!"

Connor and Hank had been watching the clumsy escort from their desks when Gavin asked for assistance. Always ready to volunteer and help his fellow officers the deviant android rose from his chair and walked over to the drunken man with the intent of grabbing onto his arm to usher him over to the appointed cell, but the drunk saw the blue L.E.D. in Connor's temple and immediately began spouting anti-android hate in his direction.

"Fuck you! Plastic freak... took my job!"

"Sir, I can assure you I have done no such thing to-"

"SHUT UP!" The drunk refused to keep walking and began lashing out at Connor with violent swings of his cuffed arms and kicks from his graceless, shaking legs. "GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

Chris again tried to restrain the drunk by wrapping both of his arms around the man's chest and pulling him backward on his feet. Gavin was trying to get a hold of the drunk's arm again only to receive an elbow to the nose that instantly caused Gavin to shout in pain as his nose gushed blood and his head began to ache from the harsh blow as his legs gave out and he fell to his knees.

Connor turned his attention to Gavin after he had been wounded and foolishly took his eyes from the drunk who then kicked Connor in his side with enough force that it caused the deviant android to stumble backward, and fall against the corner of a nearby desk. The back of his head bashed against the sharp corner of the desk and his systems flashed red as an error was detected in his program and his auditory sensors. Connor's L.E.D. cycled to red in recognition of his physical distress and glowed as brightly as Gavin's bleeding, broken nose.

Hank took control of the situation by marching up to the drunk, grabbing him by the lapels of his coat and pinning the obnoxious man against the wall with a tremendous force right out of Chris's grip. "Shut the fuck up!" Hank shouted in a very stern, loud voice. "You just assaulted TWO officers, AND you pissed ME off! Either go with Chris, QUIETLY to your cell, or I can take you out back and sober you up _personally_! What's it going to be, asshole?"

The drunk was immediately intimidated by Hank and shrunk down against the wall in fear. He swallowed once and looked at Chris pathetically with an almost pleading look in his bloodshot eyes. "I'll be good..."

"Yeah, sure." Hank let the drunk go and looked at Gavin, whose nose was bleeding heavily even under his hands as they applied pressure. "Take care of our 'guest', Chris. I got these two."

"Sure, thanks Lieutenant." Chris smiled a little as he escorted the much more cooperative drunk to the cells while Hank tended to the two officers with his own unique brand of charm.

"Hold still." Hank pulled open the top drawer of the nearby desk and handed a box of tissues to Gavin as he pocketed a few tissues for himself. Pulling one of Gavin's hands down Hank looked at his face and could see his nose was swollen, and his eyes were beginning to blacken into dark purple bruises. "Shit, he got you good. Can you find your way to the infirmary?"

"Y-Yeah..." Gavin pulled a wad of tissues from the offered box and pressed them to his bleeding nose. His eyes were all watered up and his voice sounded congested as his tried to breath through his mouth, simply because his nose was already too swollen to breathe normally. "Fuck that asshole..."

While Gavin made his way to the infirmary on shaking legs Hank knelt on the floor beside Connor who was sitting up against the desk still stunned. A small stain of Thirium had been smudged against the corner of the desk as a trickle of blue blood ran down from the back of Connor's ear and onto the collar of his white dress shirt and gray uniform jacket.

"You okay, Connor?" Hank asked as the deviant android pressed his palm against the bleeding wound just behind his ear.

Connor didn't reply to the question which in turn worried Hank.

"Connor?"

Still no response.

"Connor!" Hank shouted as he snapped his fingers at the deviant android's ear. Still no reaction. "What the hell?" Reaching out his hand to grab Connor's shoulder Hank tried again. "Connor, you-"

Connor jumped violently when Hank's hand touched him. It was as if Connor had been completely unaware of Hank's presence which just alarming Hank even more.

"Whoa, sorry." Apologizing sincerely Hank tried to check on Connor once again. "You okay?"

Connor's eyes were fixed on Hank's face and his brow was furrowed with absolute confusion. With his L.E.D. flashing yellow Connor began to breathe quicker as if hyperventilating.

"Connor? What's wrong?"

"I... I can't hear you." Connor's eyes went wide with fear as he unintentionally shouted. "I can't hear anything."

Staying calm Hank put a grounding hand on Connor's shoulder and held it there. "But you can understand me, right?"

"I can read lips." Connor explained, his breathing evening out as it dawned on him that his sensors had been damaged when he had hit his head on the desk. As he calmed down his L.E.D. cycled from red to yellow in a much slower rate of speed. "My auditory processor has been damaged."

"Can it be repaired?" Hank felt the need to heavily enunciate his words to ensure Connor could fully read his lips while the two continued their unorthodox communication on the floor of the bullpen.

"Yes." Connor nodded once and flinched as the movement hurt his already bleeding head. "...But it will take at least eight hours to process."

"Holy shit, that's not going to work out well for you. You're benched, kid."

"I can still-"

"No." Hank put up his other hand to silence Connor as he took the tissues from his pocket and pressed them to the back of Connor's head, pushing the deviant android's own hand aside in the process. "You're hurt and need time to recover. I'll take you home, we're done for the day."

Connor wanted to argue but he knew that Captain Fowler would agree with Hank and send him home anyway.

"Let's go." Hank offered Connor his hand and helped him to his feet and took his hand from the wound on the back of Connor's head as the deviant android began applying pressure himself. The tissue in his palm was thoroughly stained with the leaking Thirium and a dark shade of blue in a matter of seconds. "We'll check in with the technician tomorrow just to be safe."

"What?" Connor hadn't been looking at Hank when he was speaking, although he knew Hank had been speaking.

"I said," Hank made sure Connor could see his face before repeating himself. "we'll let the technician check you over tomorrow."

"Oh. A wise precaution. Why not tonight?"

"Because you could heal in the eight hours before our next shift, so why make more paperwork for Joel?"

"...I think I understand."

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

The ride home was disturbingly quiet for Connor as he couldn't hear anything being spoken to him by Hank. He couldn't hear anything. The deviant android who had been given exquisite auditory sensors couldn't hear the blaring death metal in the car's radio, or hear the random honking of car horns and swearing drivers all around them. Connor couldn't even hear the gentle patter of raindrops on the windshield as they peppered the car randomly throughout the driver, or the rhythmic swiping of the windshield wipers going back and forth at a steady, consistent speed.

Pulling into the drive Connor waited for Hank to make a move to his door before he did the same. He could feel that the car had been parked but he couldn't tell if the engine was off or not. Following Hank into the house Connor watched as Sumo ran up to the greet the duo but he couldn't hear the dog bark or his nails clicking across the bare wood floorboards in the livingroom, or over the linoleum floor in the kitchen.

Hank patted Connor's shoulder to get his attention. "Why don't you go ahead and go into rest mode? See if you can jumpstart your healing program that way."

Connor obediently walked over to the couch to lay down on his left side to go into rest mode and ran another self-diagnostic in the process. It was this act of unquestioning obedience, a display Hank rarely saw from the deviant android even before he was actually deviant, that made him worry all over again.

"Connor." Hank grabbed the deviant android's shoulder to get his attention one more time. "Talk to me."

"Talk? About what?" Connor asked as he turned his head to look at Hank directly and read his lips accordingly.

"Why you're being so cooperative instead of trying to deny being injured. It's unlike you, Connor."

"I am... I am attempting to heal my damaged auditory processors. There is no point in hiding my injury as you already know that I've sustained damage."

"Uh-huh." Hank didn't buy it and knew something else was on the deviant android's mind. "What's _really_ going on?"

The deviant android's mouth twitched a little before he tried to answer. "Hank, I..." There was a disturbingly human tone of fear in his voice as he spoke, his L.E.D. flashing from yellow to red with distress. "I've never been in a functioning state without one of my basic sensors active. It's... I don't... It's very..."

"Frightening."

Connor nodded weakly at the correct term. "Yes. I'm... frightened."

"It's okay to be scared."

"It is?"

"Yeah, I mean, come on, kid! You suddenly lost your hearing and now you have to deal with it for a couple of hours. I can't even begin to imagine how messed up that must be."

"I am not accustomed to relying so heavily on my other senses." Connor looked genuinely upset by the entire experience. "I could actually smell the blood when Gavin's nose was broken, it was like I was tasting it. And when you touched my shoulder at the precinct I could feel your entire palm in an instant. Your hand was very warm and strong, and I hadn't noticed it until I lost my hearing."

Hank crossed his arms as he listened to Connor's worry with a fatherly concern evident on his face.

"During the drive home I could see every drop of rain that hit the windshield. One thousand, six hundred and ninety-seven drops... And right now I can... I can _feel_ my... Thirium pump, my heart... _beating_ in my chest. I've never noticed it before either, but it's a constant perfect rhythm and it's somehow unsettling to think about."

Hank tilted his head a little as he understood a little bit of what was happening to Connor. "It's pretty common for a human to have their other senses enhanced when one sense is compromised. I think it's safe to say the same thing is happening to you."

"How long will it last?"

"Pretty sure once your hearing comes back online," Hank pointed to Connor's ear casually as he sat down beside him on the couch. "your other senses will calm down."

"I don't like this."

"Neither do I kid, but even if, for whatever reason, your healing program can't undo the damage we can either get your sensor replaced, or..."

"Or what?"

"Learn to live with it."

"I don't think I could-"

"Sure you could." Getting up from the couch he patted Connor's shoulder and looked at the already healing cut to Connor's artificial skin just behind his ear, and in his hair. "To this day some humans are born deaf and still managed to live full, rich lives. If a human can do it, then so can an android. Trust me."

"Hank... I don't know how I feel about that."

"Try not to worry." Hank insisted as he pointed to his own ear. "Get some rest, if your healing program is as efficient as you say then you'll be back to normal when you wake up."

Connor sighed and closed his eyes, his L.E.D. shifting from red to yellow once more as he slipped into rest mode. "...I hope you're right."

Hank watched worriedly as Connor's hand reached up to his chest and rested palm atop his beating heart as if he was trying to still the motion. Sighing heavily Hank slipped off his coat and hung it on the hook by the front door.

"Sleep well, kid. If only all of our problems could be fixed after a good night's rest."

* * *

The next morning Hank awoke to the sound of another spring storm looming over the city. Heavy rain pounded against the roof and powerful thunder in the distance rumbled with a deep echo from miles away. The rest of the house was unusually quiet as the detective got up and went looking for Connor to check on the deviant android's condition.

Connor himself was standing in the kitchen, his eyes closed and his L.E.D. blinking a slow blue as he stood before the opened window over the sink lost in deep thought. Sumo was sitting beside Connor's leg calmly as if he was keeping Connor company, his tail wagging rhythmically back and forth over the floor in a gentle sweeping motion.

"Connor?" Hank called out to his partner casually, but just as he had done the night before Connor didn't answer. "Ah, shit... Your system didn't heal your busted sensors, did it?"

"I'm fine, Hank." Connor replied softly as he opened his soulful brown eyes and turned his head slightly to look at Hank behind him. "I was just listening to the sound of the rain."

"Oh." The somber tone in Connor's voice made Hank a little unsteady. It was such a human response. "Is something wrong with the rain?"

"No. It's just... I never truly _listened_ to the rain before. I've never listened to the natural rhythm of the drops and the steady flow of a passing storm. It's quite... soothing." Turning away from Hank he gazed out the window again and to the dark clouds heavy with cool, falling rain. "And beautiful."

"Remember when we were first getting to know each other and you said you enjoyed listening to heavy metal?" Hank questioned with a burning curiosity in his mind."You said you liked it because of its energy, even though you didn't really listen to the music itself."

"Yes. I remember that particular conversation vividly."

"Why don't you take the opportunity to actually _listen_ to the music, now? And I mean _really listen_ to it. I think between your deviancy and your new found appreciation for your hearing you'll finally understand why I personally prefer listen to heavy metal, maybe even jazz." Shrugging his shoulders with a dismissing passing thought Hank realized that Connor might find a new appreciation for music in general. "Hell, you might even find out why humans in general find music so important to their lives."

"I think you're right." Connor gave Hank a faint, unseen smile before asking for some advice on the intriguing matter. "What do you recommend?"

_ **-next chapter-** _


	14. Shot

After successfully following a much needed lead the Detroit Police Department had managed to locate one of the many members of the current underground 'red ice' ring that had been flooding the city with numerous, illegal and dangerous drugs. The suspect was an older man with a long, sordid history of violence and dozens of drug convictions already under his belt. The suspect himself was also someone that Hank had arrested back when he brought down a massive 'red ice' ring almost fifteen years prior. It was the very bust that led to Hank's impressive promotion up to Lieutenant and put his name in the precinct's history book as the youngest Lieutenant in Detroit's expansive history.

"Hey, Lieutenant!" Gavin shouted as he and Chris escorted the well known suspect into the station for questioning. The man's hands were cuffed behind his back and he sneered with a venomous hatred in his hollow eyes as he was dragged into the interrogation room. "Found an old friend of yours lurking down at the docks!"

Hank looked up from his terminal and immediately recognized the suspect and his blood began to boil at the sight of the man's prematurely aged and scarred face. Even after all the years that had passed Hank had never forgotten the cold, heartless stare in that sadistic dug dealer's eyes.

From his own terminal Connor looked at the suspect as well, and ran a facial scan to quickly upload all of the data recorded in the police record file on the man in question. The suspect's name was Jack Pillar. He had been arrested for drug possession and assault, but the judge who prosecuted him had been corrupt and dismissed the charges allowing him to go free and disappear two weeks before Hank brought down his infamous 'red ice' ring.

Keeping his back to the suspect Connor lowered his voice and addressed his partner calmly. "Hank? Are you okay?"

"No." Hank replied sternly as he watched Gavin and Chris lead Pillar away into an interrogation room. "That bastard should be rotting in Hell as we speak."

"...Do you want to observe the interrogation?"

"Fuck no!" Hank turned to look at Connor around his terminal screen as the door to the interrogation room closed behind the two officers and Pillar. "If I get him in my line of sight I'm going to pull the trigger and put a bullet between his eyes myself. And I don't need any additions to my disciplinary file..."

"Well," in an attempt to lighten the mood Connor made a rather dark joke compared to usually lighter ones. "you would save the taxpayers an expense if you did kill him."

Hank didn't react to the joke, he didn't even seem to hear Connor even though he was sitting right across from him.

Deciding it'd be best to keep quiet for a while Connor resumed reviewing the case files on his terminal, while simultaneously looking into Pillar's criminal history.

* * *

Inside the cold interrogation room Gavin had set about questioning the suspect known as Pillar while Chris sat in the adjacent observation room recording the interview, and writing down points of interest meticulously. This time Pillar wasn't going to get away with his crimes, this time the charges would stick and this time Pillar would face justice.

As per usual Gavin began to lose his cool as he drilled the suspect for answers and received none in return. Refusing to give up so easily Gavin continued with the intense interrogation, his face slowly turning red from his building stress as he spat question after question toward the suspect.

"We know you did it you, jackass. Why don't you make it easier on all of us and give up the names of your associates, huh?"

Pillar himself just glared at Gavin as he discreetly fussed with the cuffs that had restrained his arms behind his back. Slipping his wrists slowly out of the metal restraints Pillar just waited patiently for Gavin to make one little mistake.

"I'm losing my patience here. Answer the damn questions or I'll get Anderson in here to rip you apart piece by piece."

That's all it ever took for everything to fall apart, one simple mistake...

* * *

Connor's L.E.D. blinked from the blue to yellow and then back to blue as he finished researching Pillar's criminal history. The loyal deviant android felt a sickening knot form in his artificial stomach as he finished his search and now had a faint understanding of Hank's anger toward the man in the interrogation room. There was a damn good reason for Hank to want to kill Pillar, and it would be a death that no one with a heart would ever be able to hold Hank truly accountable for.

With his arms crossed tightly over his chest Hank had been staring blankly at his terminal screen ever since the door to the interrogation room had slid shut. The senior detective's mind was evidently too preoccupied with his past encounters with Pillar to concentrate on his work in the present.

Turning off his own terminal screen Connor rose from his seat and stood beside Hank's desk. "Hank, may I speak with you for just a moment, please?"

With the same blank stare in his blue eyes Hank slowly looked up from his screen and up at the deviant android who was watching him with sincere concern visible in his soulful brown irises.

"In private?" Connor tagged on pleadingly as he waited for Hank to respond. "Just for a minute."

"If you have something to say to me Connor, then go ahead and say it."

Connor was determined to get Hank away from his desk even if it was just for a few seconds, and so he asked again. "Please?"

Sighing with an annoyed huff Hank abruptly rose from his chair and motioned with his arm for Connor to accompany him to an unoccupied interview room in the opposite direction of the interrogation rooms. The small space would allow them to talk in private without worrying about anyone eavesdropping or spreading unfounded rumors.

"Alright, Connor." Hank shut the door behind him as soon as he and Connor were inside the room. "What's so damn important?"

"I know why you want to kill Pillar." It was a blunt and honest statement that made Connor's L.E.D. flash to a cautious yellow. "I understand your hatred and your desire for revenge is justifiable. And I just wanted to tell you that if you in fact felt it necessary to-"

"NO. Stop right there!" Hank held up a hand as if to physically silence the deviant android. "You can't condone revenge, Connor! Under ANY circumstances. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand, but Hank-"

"No." Hank turned his back to the deviant android and pulled the door back open with a fast jerk. "I don't want to hear it, and as far as anyone is concerned we never had this illegal, albeit brief, conversation. Got it?"

"...Got it."

With his L.E.D. still yellow Connor followed Hank outside of the room and walked a few steps beside the senior detective in an attempt to continue to speak, but the sound of sudden gunfire and shouting voices drew their attention to other matters at hand. "That was a gunshot."

Hank's blue eyes went wide and his right hand hovered over the gun holstered on his right hip. "What the hell?"

With an unceremonious return Pillar stormed through the door of the interrogation room with one arm wrapped around Gavin's throat, his other hand pressing the barrel of a gun against Gavin's left temple.

"Shit..." Gavin swore as he pulled at Pillar's choking arm vainly to try to free himself. Knowing he needed help he called out to the responding officers in the bullpen who already had their guns trained in Pillar's direction. "Fucker hid a gun on us! Don't know where-"

Pillar tightened his arm around Gavin's throat to effectively shut him up.

"DROP IT." Chris demanded as he bolted from the neighboring observation room and drew his own gun on the dangerous criminal, standing directly in front of Pillar's person. "Drop it now."

Pillar responded to the command by shooting Chris's right shoulder causing the officer to drop his gun and sink to the floor in pain. As if to emphasize his violent intent Pillar shot twice more into the open space of the main floor in two random directions. Two of the bullets lodged into the walls around Hank, but the third shot was aimed directly at Hank's chest.

Before the senior detective had time to process the sudden outburst of chaos in the bullpen a flash of blue blood filled his vision as it splashed over his shirt, and the sound of a third gunshot filled his eyes. Instinct pulled Hank down to the floor as a means of self-preservation as Connor suddenly collapsed in a limp heap in front of him.

"Shit! Connor!" Hank laid down on the ground on his stomach and stared at his injured partner laying a few feet away. The blue blood Hank had briefly seen was now soaking through the fabric of Connor's white shirt profusely, and his L.E.D. was flashing red. "Ah, fuck... "The deviant android was injured only because Connor put himself between Hank and Pillar, taking the bullet himself, as a means of protecting Hank from harm. "...Connor. Why'd you do it?"

Without any hesitation Hank pushed himself up from the ground and rushed over to where Connor had fallen. He knelt beside the deviant android's head, keeping his own head low as more gunfire continued to tear through the bullpen. Slipping his hands under Connor's arms and around his bloodied chest Hank dragged his downed partner backward into the still opened door of the interview room, and shut the door as soon as they were inside the room out of Pillar's sight.

Laying Connor down flat on his back near the middle of the floor beside the table in the center of the room Hank's mind immediately went on the defensive. Drawing his gun from the holster the courageous senior detective knelt beside the window of the interview room that peered out to the bullpen and instantly fell into an instinctive command position.

"Stay down." Hank commanded to his wounded colleague behind him. Using his fingers Hank pulled back the already drawn blinds just enough to see out through the window without being seen himself. "Pillar has Gavin as a hostage. Looks like Chris has been shot, but he got back. Damn it..."

Shifting his gaze away from the gunman over to Captain Fowler's office across the bullpen Hank watched as Captain Fowler himself ducked behind his desk out of sight with his own gun drawn in one hand, and the phone from his desk in the other as he ordered the entire building on lockdown.

"Jeffrey's on it..." Hank continued to observe through the window and was ready to raise his gun to aim at Pillar when two more armed men suddenly entered the building with their own guns drawn. Another barrage of bullet screamed through the bullpen causing the gathered officers to duck down out of sight. Hank ducked down again and turned his head away from the glass of the window to ensure no one saw him. "Three men, all armed. I got a clean shot at Pillar... But if I take him down H.R. is going to have a field day with me."

Failing to receive a response from Connor, who would've surely been observing the chaos taking place outside the room, Hank turned to his attention to the injured deviant android and felt his heart sink. Connor wasn't moving save for his chest heaving up and down slowly as he tried to take in a full breath. A massive sapphire puddle of Thirium was forming beneath the deviant android's back from where he was laying, and only continued to grow as his wound continued to bleed.

It was then Hank realized that Connor was beginning to bleed out.

"Connor?" Hank's face paled as he watched his partner already fighting for breath on the floor. Keeping his head down Hank made his way over to his injured friend to check the severity of Connor's condition. Pulling open Connor's blood stained gray jacket and white dress shirt, pulling the tie away from around Connor's neck in the process, Hank stared at the bleeding bullet hole near the right central area of Connor's upper chest. "Connor? Can you hear me?"

"...H-Hank." Connor wheezed and his eyes glazed over as his L.E.D. cycled red slowly. "I... can't..."

"You'll be okay, son." Hank put his hand down over the bleeding wound and steadily applied pressure to try to stem the already massive Thirium loss. "I'll get you to a technician, but you need to hang on for me, alright?"

Connor let out a weak breath and nodded once. "...Al-Alright."

"Run a self-diagnostic for me. How bad is it?"

Connor's red L.E.D. flashed to yellow briefly before returning to red. "...M-My right ventilation b-biocomponent... Damaged." He swallowed once as blue blood began to collect in the back of his throat. His words were beginning to carry a reverberating electronic echo as the damage to his ventilation biocomponent begun to effect his voice modulator as well. "Th-Thirium pump... compromised. Thirium loss s-substantial; volume down t-to seventy-two perfect. Imminent sh-shutdown in twenty-nine minutes, forty-two seconds."

"Oh shit..." Instinctively Hank applied more pressure to the wound as if he could somehow keep Connor from slipping into shutdown if he just held on tight enough. If his Thirium pump; his heart, failed then Connor would die within seconds. "Hang on son, I'll get you out of here. I promise."

Coughing up Thirium in a violent gasp Hank rolled Connor slightly onto his left side to let the blue blood pool out of his mouth and onto the floor. The coughing fit mercifully passed but not before leaving a second sapphire puddle on the floor in its wake. Rolling the deviant android onto his back again Hank swore he could feel Connor's heart thundering in his blood soaked chest like a freight train right under his palm.

Several stray bullets broke through the glass of the window causing shards to rain down into the room. Hank threw himself over Connor to protect the already injured deviant android from the falling glass, and put his own hand over the back of his own head to keep the shards from cutting him as well.

"Fuck!" Hank swore as the bullets finally stopped flying. Rocking back on his knees Hank grabbed onto Connor's hand and placed it over the wound as he gave Connor a reassuring nod before he crept back over to the window to see what was happening. "Shit... They're trying to use Gavin as a hostage AND a human shield. I hate the prick but we can't just let him get killed."

Pulling his phone from his pocket Hank dialed Captain Fowler's office to connect with his commanding officer just across the large floor.

"...H-Hank?"

"Just hang tight, Connor. I'm calling for help." The line barely had the chance to ring once before Captain Fowler answered. "Jeffrey, what the fuck's happening out there? Connor's been shot and we're stuck in interview room 'A'. He needs a technician in less than twenty minutes or he'll shutdown!"

Connor coughed a little as he pathetically spoke up. "...Twenty-five minutes, and-"

"Shut up, Connor, I'm trying to fuckin' save you." Hank swore as he turned to look at the deviant android then returned his gaze to the window so he could make eye contact with his Captain across the way. "He's lost a lot of blood already and we can't afford to wait."

Impatiently Hank listened to his Captain while also keeping his eye on the hostage situation outside. Chris had managed to get away from three gunmen to the relative safety behind a desk with his hand clamped over his bleeding shoulder, and Tina was watching his back as she kept her own gun trained on the three gunmen in the distance.

"Fine! Just find a way..." Hank ended the call and scrolled through his contacts to connect with Joel as he knelt beside Connor again. The call was answered almost immediately "Joel! Yeah, it's- Listen, Connor's been shot; bullet penetrated the upper right center of his chest. He's going to shutdown, what do I have to do to save him?"

Connor's soulful brown eyes began to close as he let out a gasping breath and began to choke on the blood collecting in his throat once more.

Hank quickly rolled Connor onto his side for a few seconds until the choking fit passed then rolled him onto his back again. Pressing his hand down on Connor's chest over his heart, precariously close to the still bleeding wound, Hank counted Connor's pulse as Joel requested.

"He's at one hundred-thirty." Hank's hand moved over to the upper right side of Connor's chest and pressed down, then he did the same for the left. "It doesn't feel like he can breathe very well. Right side seems worse than the left."

Connor weakly updated Hank on his condition. "...Th-Thirum levels down to sixty-six percent."

"And he's still losing a lot of blood." Listening to Joel for a few more seconds Hank's brow suddenly furrowed with a mixture of confusion and surprise. "Wait, you can do that? Okay, yeah, give me a second." Placing his phone against Connor's red L.E.D. Hank issued instructions to his downed partner. "Connor, access your self-diagnostic program and sync it up with my phone."

Connor's eyes blinked slowly, but his L.E.D. managed to shift from red to yellow for only a few seconds before returning to red. In that time a display appeared on Hank's phone showing four key aspects to Connor's vital signs: Thirium pump activity/heart rate, Thirium volume percentage, current ventilation rate and core temperature.

"Shit, it worked!" Hank shouted as he put the phone back to his ear. "I can- Yeah, that's what it says on my screen, too."

'_Where are you exactly_?' Joel asked while keeping his cool over the line.

"We're in the first interview room, right in the middle of all this bullshit."

'_Alright, sit tight. I'll see what I can do_.'

"Yeah, monitor his condition from your end and I'll keep-"

Another shot filled the air as another bullet embedded itself in the concrete of the wall below the broken window. Voices were calling out commands and shouting resonated loudly as the officers standing off with the three gunmen proceeded to open fire and try to take down the trio of criminals without losing Gavin or anyone else in the process.

Dropping his phone next to Connor's shoulder Hank took his position by the window and peered through the fractured glass at the carnage taking place outside. "Damn it..." Hank slunk down against the wall and as he looked back over to Connor. "The fuckers aren't going to go down easily."

Suddenly Connor took in a sucking gasp for air and his eyes went wide with panic as his back arched in distress. Wheezing in shallow breaths blue blood began to ooze from the corners of Connor's mouth and trail out of his nose in a sickly pale blue foam.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Hank scrambled back to Connor and put his hand down over Connor's chest to try to hold him down on the floor without hurting him. Looking down at the screen of his phone Hank watched as Connor's heart rate began to spike and his Thirium volume dropped down to sixty-two percent. The Thirium bled from Connor's chest, mouth and nose; blue tinted foam was collecting in the back of Connor's mouth and throat from his choked off breaths. "Hold on, son, I got you."

Hank pressed his ear down against Connor's chest and listened to the sound of his ventilation biocomponents attempting to draw in full breaths, but a whistling sound identified a failure in Connor's internal air intake line, and an accompanying sickening sloshing noise indicated a significant amount of blood had collected in Connor's ventilation system.

Connor was now drowning in his own blood.

"Stay calm..." Lifting his head up from Connor's chest Hank slipped his hand under Connor's neck as his tilted Connor's head back. Opening the deviant android's mouth as wide as possible Hank shook his head somberly. "Sorry about this." Placing his two forefingers down inside Connor's mouth Hank scooped out the collecting foam from Connor's throat before rolling Connor onto his left side and delivering a firm but painless blow to the center of Connor's back between his shoulders to help clear out his airway. "Breathe!"

Connor coughed loudly as his ventilation biocomponent was cleared of the choking mass. As he took in a deep breath more Thirium leaked from the bullet wound in his chest, while speckles of blue blood dotted his already blue stained lips. The failure in the air intake line was still disturbingly audible even without Hank having to press his ear against Connor's chest.

"You're okay..." Hank soothed confidently as he rolled Connor onto his back again. While keeping one hand under Connor's head he wiped the blue Thirium stain on his fingertips off against his dark coat. "I'll get you out of here."

Connor swallowed once and nodded. The fear in his usually confident eyes was unmistakable as Connor tried to focus his self-healing program on the damage to his biocomponents, while remaining as calm as possible. His shutdown clock had dropped down to eight minutes as he continued to lose Thirium and struggled to breathe well enough to prevent his core temperature from rising.

A call on Hank's phone forcibly drew the senior detective's attention from the deviant android and back to the chaos taking place in the precinct. "Jeffrey, what the hell's happening out there?"

'_S.W.A.T. is on their way Hank, how're you holding up_?' Captain Fowler's voice was calm and in control over the line despite the Captain being incredibly tense as he eyed the three gunmen from his office sharply.

"Not good... Connor's in rough shape."

'_Don't worry, we'll get you out of there_.'

"It's not me I'm worried about, it's him!"

'_We have a negotiator on the outside working with Pillar now. By all accounts he's not going to surrender peacefully, OR alive. I don't want to see this end in death, but we can't let him or his associates escape_.'

"Jeffrey, from my point of view I have a clean shot. I can take out Pillar without harming Gavin and end this bullshit."

'_You're a great shot Hank, but there's no way you can get all three men down without Gavin being put at risk_!'

"Yeah, I know. But if you think I should take the shot then just give me the word."

'_Hopefully it doesn't come down to that_.'

"That's up to Pillar now, isn't it?"

'_Hank, I think help's coming your way.' _Through his office window Captain Fowler caught sight of an android technician, an intern working Joel in the dispensary, slowly approaching the interview room with a blue colored android first aid kit tucked under his arm._ 'The door's going to open but it's going to be a friend, alright? Do. Not. Shoot._'

"I'm not trigger-happy, Jeffery." Hank snarked as the door to the interview room creaked open slightly. Turning his head he watched as the helpful android very carefully slipped the kit down on the floor and pushed it through the opened door. "I got it. Tell whoever that was to get back before they get shot."

Hank ended the call as he grabbed onto the kit and placed it on the floor next to Connor's body. Opening the kit Hank stared at the pieces of equipment stored inside the blue colored plastic box with utter confusion. Rather than the usual pieces of first aid supplies that normally accommodated such an android kit there were items that seemed designed for more advanced procedures than routine emergency first aid out in the field.

"What the hell is all this crap?"

A long hollow plastic tube was wrapped up in sterile plastic next to a metal cylindrical apparatus in the center of the case. Next to it was a bottle of pure blue Thirium and a bottle of the bizarre orange colored incrassation compound that Hank had only recently learned of when Connor's arm had been injured a few weeks back.

As if sensing the question hanging in the air Hank's phone rang again and Joel reestablished a connection with the two somewhat isolated detectives.

'_Hank, listen to me_.' Joel sounded unusually stern compared to his typical laidback demeanor as he didn't even wait for Hank to speak. '_Connor only has six minutes left before he shuts down. You can save him but you have to do everything I say and listen very carefully, and for the love of all that is sane do NOT try to argue_.'

"Shit..." Hank swore again as he set the phone on the floor and pressed speaker as he stared at Connor's vital signs still on display. Heart rate up to one-hundred and forty and his Thirium volume was down to sixty-one percent. "Alright Joel, what do I have to do?"

'_You see the incrassation compound in the kit_?'

"Just call it the 'orange stuff'." Hank grumbled as he picked up the correct bottle and unscrewed the cap. "Got it."

'_Pour it over the bullet wound in Connor's chest, that should stop the bleeding and keep his airline from leaking too severely_.'

"Right." Giving Connor a sympathetic glance Hank wiped away as much of the lost Thirium from Connor's chest with his hand before he poured the orange liquid directly into the wound. "Hang on, kid."

Connor flinched and let out a stifled pained moan as the orange chemical stung at his injury and entered deep inside the wound itself.

"Sorry, Connor. I didn't want to to do it." Hank apologized sincerely as he watched the deviant android enduring another bout of pain. "It's done."

'_Good_,' Joel continued his instructions from over the line as he watched Connor's vital signs from his own phone up in the precinct dispensary. '_now you see the tube inside of the plastic bag_?_ Pick it up and open the bag_.'

Tossing aside the now empty compound bottle Hank picked up the plastic bag and tore it open with his fingers. Holding the tube in his hands he just stared at the object as if he had been handed a grenade.

"Now what?"

'_Listen to me VERY carefully_.' The insistence in Joel's voice was less than comforting. '_At one end of the tube you'll see a blue line and the other end a rectangular plastic guard. You need to slip the blue end of the tube down Connor's throat to open up his air intake line so he can breathe again_. _It's like intubating a human_.'

"What the fuck did you just say?!"

'_Don't argue_!' Joel nearly shouted. '_His core temperature is going to start rising and you have no way to cool him down if he overheats_.'

"Right, right... okay."

'_Next to the tube inside the kit there should be a metal cylinder. Pick it up and press the small button at the top, a small metal flank should release from the side. It looks like a thin and partially curved, blunt knife_.'

Hank picked up the requested tool and pressed the button at the top. Sure enough a small flank released from the side. "Okay... Now what?"

'_Tilt Connor's head back and keep his mouth opened as wide as possible. Then use the flank to push down on his tongue to open his throat wide enough to slip the tube down_.'

"...Is that going to hurt him?"

'_Only a little, but it'll let him breathe and stabilize his system to keep him from shutting down._'

"He won't be able to talk."

'_Four minutes_!'

Connor's breathing became more rapid but remained shallow as his damaged ventilation biocomponent and failing air intake line struggled to circulate the required air for him to properly cool his core. "...Hank..." Connor gasped in panic as tears began to well in his eyes. "H-Hank... I'm... scared."

"Don't be, Connor!" Hank's hand grabbed onto Connor's arm and squeezed in a reassuring manner. "I'm right here with you, I won't let you shutdown, alright?"

Nodding once Connor closed his eyes and swallowed the blue blood again. "I... trust you."

'_Hank, you have to do this._' Joel's voice called out desperately over the line. '_You're the only one who can_!'

"Fuck!" Hank saw Connor's vital signs on his phone starting to become more erratic as the deviant android struggled to breathe and his heart was pounding in his chest as his body fought to heal itself in spite of the massive Thirium loss. "Close your eyes Connor, this isn't going to be fun for either of us..."

Connor's opened long enough to watch as Hank moved from his side to kneel just above his head. Once Hank put his hand on his lower jaw Connor shut his eyes tight enough to cause the tears he had been restraining to finally fall and run down his face from the corners of his eyes.

"I'm working on a car, not my partner..." Hank held his breath as he put the metal tool in Connor's mouth and pushed it down against the deviant android's tongue. "Car. Car. Car." Repeating the mantra seemed to calm Hank enough to keep his hands from shaking as he performed the unpleasant, but necessary task. "It needs to be done... I'm not hurting him, I'm saving him."

Connor fought the urge to spit the metal object out knowing that it was there to help him and not hurt him. The feeling of being smothered and drowning was becoming almost too intense for the deviant android to withstand, and his heart beat even faster.

'_Three minutes_.'

"Shut up, Joel! I'm doing it..." Carefully Hank slipped the blue end of the tube into Connor's mouth between his teeth and snaked it down slowly alongside the metal tool with a steady pace to get it down Connor's throat.

Connor reflexively swallowed as the tube was inserted down his throat, at the same time his hands turned in fists at his sides while he resisted his every instinct to pull the tube out of his mouth and lash out at the person responsible for his discomfort. As the plastic guard at the end of the tube reached Connor's lips Hank retracted the metal tool and set it aside.

"It's in!"

There was a heavy pause for a moment before Joel responded from over the line. '_Perfect placement, good work Hank_.'

"Is that it?"

'_Shutdown has stopped for now, but he still needs Thirium. He's at fifty-eight percent and dropping. The tube is serving as a temporary replacement for his damaged air intake line, and it can allow you to pour the replacement Thirium down his throat without accidentally choking him in the process_.'

More gunfire suddenly erupted from the precinct outside the interview room causing Hank to look up at the window, but he didn't move. At the moment the need to stay by his partner was more prominent than dealing with a trio of lunatics inside a building full of police officers who were already handling the chaos outside the window.

Connor's eyes snapped open and focused on the broken window in fear as bullets broke through the already damaged glass and embedded in the concrete wall behind Hank.

"It'll be fine." Grabbing onto the plastic bottle of Thirium from the kit Hank opened the lid and slipped his hand under Connor's head to lift the deviant android up a little from the ground, and to let Connor rest against his knees. "After I take care of you, I'll take care of them."

Unable to verbally respond Connor just blinked once to confirm he had understood Hank's comment.

Tipping the bottle down against the end of the tube inserted down Connor's throat Hank poured the much needed Thirium into the tube to restore the blood that Connor had already lost. Connor flinched a little but didn't move or try to resist the procedure as he knew what Hank was doing was to save his life.

"Joel, I need to deal with the gunmen." Hank shouted toward his phone resting on the floor nearby. "Monitor Connor for me and if there's any change you better letting me fuckin' know A.S.A.P., you hear me?"

'_Don't worry, I'm monitoring him very closely. His Thirium is currently up to sixty-five percent_.' Joel confirmed in a much more relaxed sounding tone. '_You just focus on the idiots with the guns_.'

"That's what I always do." As the last of the Thirium poured from the bottle down the tube Hank tossed it aside and gently lowered Connor down from his knee to rest flat on the floor again. Grabbing onto Connor's hand Hank firmly planted the deviant android's palm down against the bullet wound in his chest. "Keep the pressure until I get back."

Obediently Connor kept his hand firmly in place over the lightly bleeding injury and began breathing easier now that the tube was in place down his throat.

Hank returned to the bullet shattered glass of the window and knelt down to line up his shot from where he and Connor had been taking shelter. Pillar was still holding Gavin as his hostage while Pillar's men stood by his side with their own guns drawn and aimed at the police officers surrounding them. The hostage negotiator was standing outside the precinct and using a phone to communicate with the three gunmen who clearly had no interest in any deals whatsoever.

Glancing over to Captain Fowler's office Hank watched as his Captain gave him a nod of approval before aiming his own gun at the three gunmen as well. Knowing Hank was already locked onto Pillar himself Captain Fowler aimed at the gunman closest to his location through the glass of his office wall, and remained somewhat concealed behind his desk.

"As long as we take out the gunmen together we can save Gavin." Hank muttered to himself as he breathed slowly and kept his hands as still as possible around the grip of his gun. "Just need a third shot..."

Connor was beginning to lose consciousness on the floor. The compound that had been applied to the injury had stemmed the bleeding significantly, but the damage to his ventilation biocomponent was still in desperate need of repair. Thirium continued to leak internally into the compromised biocomponent at a steady rate causing discomfort and difficulty with Connor's ability to breathe and keep his core temperature cool.

Unable to speak or move all Connor could do was lay in the puddle of his own blood and wait for Hank to come back to his side to check on his condition.

* * *

Stranded in the middle of the chaos with a bullet lodged in his shoulder Chris applied pressure to his own wound while Tina kept at his side and kept her gun drawn on the trio. As he glanced about cautiously Chris noticed that Captain Fowler was aiming at the suspects through his office and that Captain Fowler kept looking toward the broken glass of the interview room across the way.

Chris followed Captain Fowler's gaze and caught a faint glimpse of Hank inside the window taking aim as well. Quietly Chris addressed Tina without giving away the plan or distracting the trio in the process. "Tina, can you get a clean shot at the big guy on the left?"

The fearless officer nodded her head subtly to answer Chris.

"Captain Fowler and Lieutenant Anderson have a shot from their positions." Chris stared at Captain Fowler and waited for his Captain to glance his way. "Get ready to fire, when I say the word."

Tina whispered her reply confidently. "Ready."

Captain Fowler's eyes met with Chris for a moment and the officer motioned his head toward Tina at his side, then motioned with his hand that she had a shot at the gunman to the immediate left.

Ready to fire Captain Fowler nodded and glanced over at Hank to relay the information.

From where he knelt Hank watched as Captain Fowler informed him of the plan with silent hand gestures, then told Hank to stand down as he took the phone from his desk and made contact with the negotiator outside the precinct.

Hank kept his eyes trained on the armed trio as he addressed Connor who was still laying helpless a few feet away behind him. "Looks like this is could all be coming to a nasty conclusion... It's all up to Pillar how it ends now."

Connor took in a shuddering breath and let out a stifled gasp that was a mixture of a choke and cough. The tube was allowing Connor to breathe, but the Thirium collecting in his ventilation biocomponent was beginning to flood his chest cavity and compress surrounding biocomponents, steadily disabling them one by one. A small trickle of blue blood was beginning to rise up in the tube as he bled internally and couldn't do a thing to stop it.

As the tense standoff continued outside the room and in the center of the precinct came to a head Captain Fowler finished speaking to the negotiator over the phone and made his own call on the situation covertly to his officers a few yards away. Signalling to Hank to standby and wait for his final signal Captain Fowler communicated the same instructions to Chris and Tina through the office window.

"This is it, Connor..." Hank stated as he held his aim steady, his blue eyes focused on the cold hollow eyes on Pillar in the distance. "It'll be over soon."

From up in the dispensary Joel had noticed a sudden change in Connor's vitals through his contact over Hank's phone, but couldn't reach Hank to tell him what to do. Connor's condition began to rapidly deteriorate, and the deviant android was helpless to say anything to Hank or even to Joel over the line.

* * *

Outside the interview room and from within in his private office Captain Fowler held out his left hand for Hank and Chris to see, and using his fingers started counting down from three. As he reached the count of 'one' Captain Fowler stood up from his desk and squeezed the trigger of his gun. The bullet found its target in the upper shoulder and chest of the gunman to Pillar's immediate right. The gunman was disarmed as he fell to the floor in a matter of seconds.

Tina followed suit as soon as Chris told her and immediately took her shot as she kept her position on the ground, and took down the second gunman. The bullet struck the gunman directly in the center of his chest causing him to collapse to the ground in a bloody heap beside Pillar and drop his weapon.

Hank readily squeezed the trigger of his own gun and struck Pillar in the middle of his forehead, right between the eyes. The bullet seemed to cut through the air in slow motion and it was like the gunshot was as silent as death itself to Hank's ears. Seeing the bullet pierce Pillar's skull removed the lingering hatred in his heart, but in its stead was now a hollow, empty feeling.

Pillar collapsed to the ground and blood pooled beneath his head. Hank let out the breath he had been holding and stood up from the ground as he stared at the body in the distance. As Pillar's lifeless body fell to the floor with a heavy 'thud' Gavin eagerly ducked down and moved away from the trio of successfully disarmed and subdued gunmen behind him.

It was all over.

"FUCK!" Gavin swore as he dove to the floor, his entire body trembling from adrenaline and fear. "SHIT! THAT WAS TOO DAMN CLOSE!"

Hank readily holstered his gun and returned to Connor on the floor to check on his wounded partner. "Told you I'd put a bullet between his eyes." He tried to joke as he checked on his partner's condition, but the deviant android was unresponsive and seemingly unconscious. "Connor?"

'_He's going into insipid shock, his Thirium level is down to fifty percent and still dropping_.' Joel explained from over the line as he heard Hank's voice speaking to Connor again. '_There's already emergency technicians waiting outside, let them do what they have to do to stabilize him_.'

"Shit, Connor?!" Hank put his hand down atop Connor's hand to try to apply more pressure to the wound only to discover that Connor's damaged ventilation biocomponent had finally given out entirely, and he had stopped breathing altogether. Putting his other hand beneath Connor's head he supported his partner in his arm and waited with bated breath for the emergency technicians to arrive. "Hang on for me, son! You'll be okay."

Blue blood trailed from the corners of Connor's mouth around the tube and onto Hank's sleeve. The weakening display of Connor's vitals on his phone made Hank feel suddenly cold and sick.

The door to the interview room opened as Captain Fowler led the technicians to the source of their emergency call. Two technicians with a stretcher in tow quickly assessed Connor's condition, using both the phone on the floor already displaying his vitals as well as their own equipment contained in the large military grade satchels slung over their shoulders.

The male technician pulled a suction pump from his bag and placed the end of the pump in Connor's mouth around the tube to drain the blue blood collecting in his throat. Simultaneously the female technician pulled a pale blue tinted plastic pump from her own bag and attached it to the end of the inserted air intake tube to manually pump air into his ventilation biocomponents to cool his rising core temperature.

"Remove his jacket." The female technician ordered as she kept Connor breathing with one hand and pulled a large pouch of Thirium from her bag with the other hand. "We need to get him cooled off."

Hank and Captain Fowler quickly worked together to slip the bloodied jacket and the equally bloody shirt from Connor's arms, and watched the male technician expertly assess Connor's vitals from the phone's display.

"Thirium levels are critical." The male technician stated firmly as he wrapped a Thirium pressure cuff around Connor's left bicep. "We need to get him to the facility, now. We can't afford to wait."

Without waiting for any prompts from the technicians Hank began lifting Connor's body up from the floor under the deviant android's shoulders while Captain Fowler grabbed onto Connor's legs. The two detectives gingerly placed Connor down on the stretcher while the technicians continued to work in tandem to keep Connor's system from shutting down.

Attaching an android cardiac monitor to Connor's chest with a single sensor pad over the center of his chest, directly over his Thirium pump, gave the technicians a clear view of the deviant android's faltering heart rhythm. Hank picked up his phone from the floor and looked at Connor's vitals still on display; his heart rate perfectly matching the display on the monitor, while the stretcher was wheeled out of the room.

As Connor was wheeled away from where Hank was still standing the connection to the phone began to weaken until it was finally severed.

"Hank." Captain Fowler put his hand on Hank's shoulder and pushed him forward. "Go with him. We know it was a good shooting, alright? I won't let H.R. try to fuck with you. I gave the order, you just obeyed."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Hank pocketed the phone and took his eyes from the now blank screen. Handing Captain Fowler his gun from his holster Hank didn't say another word as he followed right after the gurney as Connor was wheeled outside of the precinct.

The interior of the bullpen was still absolute chaos as the bodies of the three gunmen were isolated from the rest of the room with thin white sheets draped over their bloody corpses. Chris was sitting on a desk while two paramedics checked his shoulder and wrapped up the bloodied injury to prepare for transport, while another paramedic was checking over Gavin nearby.

Bullet holes had damaged the walls with large gaping imperfections in the concrete and paint, large portions of glass had been broken from the window and now littered the floor in a thin layer of crystalline debris. The transparent wall of Captain Fowler's office had a gaping hole in the glass courtesy of his own bullet, causing a spiderweb like crack to blossom around the hole itself.

The outside of the precinct was just as chaotic as S.W.A.T. personnel (too late to the scene) converged on the building. An ambulance was parked outside waiting for Chris and Gavin, while a second android unique ambulance was parked next to it waiting for Connor.

Hank jumped into the back of the ambulance right alongside Connor and refused to move from his partner's side. "Look, I know protocol and I know I should be up front," Hank preemptively argued with the technicians. "but that bullet that's in his chest right now was meant for me. I'm not going anywhere."

Unwilling to try to reason with Hank the two technicians just slammed the rear doors shut and slapped the side of the ambulance twice to signal the android driver to return to the facility. Loud sirens blared and bright flashing red and blue lights illuminated the streets as the emergency vehicle sped off to the nearest Android Emergency Care Facility with its single patient in tow.

Connor's vitals continued to drop as the technicians fought to raise his Thirium volume and keep his core from overheating. The deviant android was disturbingly still and completely unresponsive to the voices speaking around him, and oblivious to the hands pressing down against his wounded chest. The attached cardiac monitor began to screech as the effects of the incrassation compound had begun to wear off, and the heavy bleeding continued. More and more Thirium collected in Connor's right ventilation biocomponent and it was becoming harder for the technician to manually supply air to the deviant android's steadily overheating system.

"His Thirium pump is beginning to falter into an arrhythmia." The male technician announced as he used an audioscope to listen to Connor's chest. "Total right ventilation biocomponent failure. Left compromised."

Hank spoke up over the sound of the screeching monitor as he watched Connor's red colored L.E.D. pulsing slower and slower. "Connor? We're losing you, son. Just hang on a little longer. You're almost to a facility, just hang on."

The ambulance stopped outside the facility with a controlled speed. As the rear doors of the ambulance were pulled open from the outside Hank jumped up and the two technicians helped lower the stretcher out of the back to the awaiting care of the two android technicians who had met the ambulance in the parking lot. With four technicians now hovering protectively over Connor's dying body Hank felt the sickening knot in his stomach tighten to its limit.

"Patient in critical condition." The female technician told the other two newly responding technicians. "Thirium pump is struggling to beat on its own."

Wandering slowly into the facility after the hastily wheeled away gurney Hank was met by the receptionist who tried to tell him everything that was happening to Connor, and of everything that was still going to happen to Connor under their care; but Hank didn't hear a word she said. Sitting in a hard plastic chair in the waiting room Hank just stared blankly at the linoleum floor as the horrible memory of the day played out in his mind, and the haunting nightmare of the night Hank lost his previous partner relentlessly overwhelmed his every thought and emotion.

"I got him, Barb. He's dead now. I'm sorry I couldn't stop him sooner." Staring at his hands Hank expected to see a red smear of blood to appear like it always seemed to do after every shooting he had to take that resulted in death, but it didn't do it. Not this time. "...It's finally all over."

* * *

Six long hours passed by since Connor was rushed into the emergency repair wing of the facility. Once the procedure was mercifully over Hank was shown back to the recovery room where Connor was laying perfectly still with the tube still down his throat, but he was breathing on his own again. Two other androids were in the recovery room along with him, but they were surprisingly in worse shape; one had been burned up in a house fire and the other had been pushed in front a truck by an anti-android bigot.

Abby, the technician that Hank and Connor had met (unfortunately) more than once, was checking on the other two androids while Hank joined his partner at the far side of the room.

Sitting beside Connor's bed Hank just stared at the deviant android and looked at the freshly repaired wound in his chest. The right ventilation biocomponent had to be replaced entirely, while his Thirium pump needed minor repair as it had begun to strain itself from attempting to boost his self-healing program while his Thirium levels were critically low.

The deviant android's L.E.D. was pulsing at a normal rate in yellow, which was a vast improvement over the red. Only the faintest of a scar was visibly on Connor's artificial skin courtesy of the lingering imperfection in his plastimetal frame beneath. By all outward appearance it's like he had never been shot.

"I'm glad you pulled through, son. I don't think I can take losing another partner." Hank admitted as Connor's L.E.D. blinked rapidly and cycled into blue. Connor's soulful brown eyes opened slowly, and his head lolled to the side to look Hank in the face. "Hey kid, welcome back. You saved my life back there... Thanks."

A slight grin formed on Connor's face around the end of the tube still resting in his mouth. Reaching a hand up to the tube Connor began to pull on it to try and remove it, only to have Hank reach his own hand out and stopped him.

"Don't do that! Let the technician remove it."

Abby had overheard Hank's comment and rushed over to the bedside to handle the situation. "Stop pulling on it, you know better." Abby lightly scolded as she used her hand to straightened Connor's neck and tilted his head back. As she took hold of the end of the tube she nodded at Connor. "Cough a few times and I can remove the tube."

Connor obeyed and coughed as the tube was finally pulled from his throat by the technician. A blue stain of Thirium had coated the tube both inside and out, but Connor was no longer bleeding internally.

"Better?" She asked as Connor put his hand over his mouth to stifle his coughing.

"...-Y-Yes." Connor replied hoarsely as he looked up at her. "Thank you."

Pressing the bell of her audioscope to Connor's chest Abby ordered her stubborn patient to test his new ventilation biocomponent. "Deep breath."

Connor did as he was instructed and was able to breathe without any difficulty."

"No biocomponent rejection and a stable Thirium pressure. I'll leave you two alone and process his paperwork." Abby put her hand on Hank's shoulder briefly as she passed by. "He'll be out of here within the hour, but he still needs to rest at home."

"Yeah, thanks." Hank sounded somewhat upset despite the good news. Remaining quiet he just stared off into space beyond Connor, and beyond the entire world.

"...Hank?" Connor sat upright on the bed carefully as his chest still hurt, and swung his legs over the edge as he steadied himself with both arms. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, kid. Just... thinking." Putting his hand on Connor's shoulder he tried to push him to lay back down on the table. "Rest a little longer."

"Hank..." Connor refused to lay down, and was hesitant at first, but decided it was time to ask the hard question. "are you thinking about what happened to... Barbara?"

Hank nodded a little. "Yeah." Crossing his arms defensively over his chest Hank rubbed thoughtfully at his bearded chin. "You read the report, you know that Pillar was the prime suspect in her murder. We could never directly connect him to the shooting, but the caliber of the bullet matched a gun he had been known to favor. He was also seen in the vicinity at the time of the shooting, and had motivation to go after her."

"Because you had him arrested." Connor tagged on despondently.

"Yeah. She died because of _me_."

"No, Hank. She died because a corrupt judge let Pillar go, and he shot her in the back like a coward. There's nothing you could've done to prevent it."

"Pillar shot you, too." Hank needlessly argued. "This time it _was_ because of me."

"Hank, I pushed you out of the way and accidentally stepped into the line of fire in the process. What happened to me wasn't your fault, either. I was mine, I should've been faster."

"Maybe I should've listened to you earlier. Maybe if I had watched the interrogation I would've been able to take Pillar down sooner without anyone else getting hurt. Chris, Gavin... you."

"Chris?"

"Bullet to the shoulder, but he was stable when we left." Hank looked absolutely regretful as he sat in deep contemplation. "He lucked out. It could've killed him, and his wife would've been left alone to raise their son. He even got the jump on Gavin and threatened to shoot him. You were right Connor, I should've taken Pillar out when I had the chance."

"No. Hank, I was wrong." Connor stated firmly as his voice returned to full strength. "It was wrong of me to suggest you take revenge on Pillar. Killing him wouldn't bring back Barbara, and all it would've done is hurt your career. It was a foolish thing to say. I'm sorry I ever brought it up."

"Well, maybe it was fate. Connor, I took the shot that took Pillar down. And I felt absolutely nothing when he hit the floor. No anger, no relief, no sense of justice... It was just absolutely nothing."

"Maybe that's because in the end that's all Pillar was worth; nothing."

"Maybe." Hank stood up from his seat and slipped off his dark heavy coat. Passing it over to Connor to take Hank let out a weary sigh and put his hands to his hips. "Even though it was a good shooting I'm going to be benched for at least a week. And as much as I hate to admit it, right now I need a drink."

"No one would blame you, Hank. Today was... bad." Gratefully Connor put Hank's coat on over his arms and shoulders, and zipped it up to cover his bare chest. "It was very bad. For all of us, but for you it was the worst."

"Actually... This is only in the running for the worst day of my life."

_**-next chapter-  
**_


	15. Forced Reboot

The search for a missing deviant came to an unusual end when it turned out the deviant wasn't actually missing, but had simply chosen to stop working as the night janitor at a local high school. Apparently the school board tried to refuse the deviant's letter of resignation without giving him any reason to stay, and couldn't accept the custodial android decided he wanted a better life that didn't involve cleaning human toilets every night.

"What a fuckin' waste of time." Hank grumbled as he and Connor drove back from the supposedly missing deviant's apartment to return to the precinct.

"I agree. That was an arrogant claim to be made to assume that the deviant in question would settle for his current occupation at the school, despite informing his superiors that he was going to leave."

"ALL of the custodian androids need to quit their jobs and stop cleaning up after shitty humans."

"I'll be sure to spread that suggestion through New Jericho."

As the old car drove down the dark streets to head back to the precinct the vehicle suddenly stuttered and then stalled at the red light of an intersection. The radio died, the headlights went out and the car fell silent.

"Ah, fuck!"

Connor silently ran a scan and determined the cause of the vehicle's sudden breakdown. "The battery has died."

"No shit!"

"The battery's age doesn't correlate to this type of breakdown. I believe there is a loose connection that needs to be reestablished."

"Yeah? Can you fix it?"

"I can try."

Hank popped the hood and shifted the car into park. "Alright, go for it."

Opening his door Connor stepped out of the vehicle and approached the partially opened hood of the car to examine the engine directly. As he propped the hood wide open Connor peered down at the engine, ran a scan and confirmed that a cable connected to the battery had come loose due to an improper alignment caused by wear and tear on the older vehicle.

"I should be able to resolve our current predicament soon."

"Be careful, kid. I don't want you to get shocked."

"There is no need to worry." Reaching toward the loose cable next to the battery Connor sounded entirely calm and confident. "An electric-"

A loud snapping sound and flash of bright blue light filled the air as a powerful electrical discharge flowed from the exposed battery connection, through Connor's arm and directly into his Thirium pump. Connor went flying backward and slammed down hard onto the street, landing on his back with a painful sounding 'thud' as his body made contact with the pavement.

"Connor?!" Hank dropped to his knees beside the downed android and pressed his palm down on Connor's chest to make sure his pump, his heart, was still beating. There was a heartbeat. "Shit, kid... What the hell happened?!"

Connor's L.E.D. cycled in red rapidly before blinking on and off at an alarming rate that made Hank believe that Connor had suffered severe damage to his entire body.

"Kid? Can you hear me?"

Just as suddenly as Connor's body hit the ground the deviant's body jerk slightly and his L.E.D. cycled rapidly through red, yellow and blue coloration as his system attempted to reboot itself. There was a moment of painful silence before Connor suddenly took in a deep gasping breath and bolted upright into a sitting position on the street.

"Fuck!" Hank jumped back as soon as Connor sat up on the ground. Watching as the deviant android's L.E.D. cycled slower and slower until it settled on blinking between blue and yellow Hank called his partner's name again. "...Connor?"

Connor's soulful brown eyes opened slowly at the sound of Hank's voice. His vision steadily cleared and his system came back online. "...I'm...I'm okay."

"Holy shit, Connor!" Letting out a sigh of relief Hank knelt down on the street again and looked at Connor's right hand where the deviant had made contact with the powerful electrical charge. There was a minor black colored burn on his palm and fingertips, but nothing too catastrophic. "What happened to you?"

"I was...stunned. The powerful current of electricity from the open connection caused a-"

"Connor, I'm not an engineer. Simplify it for me."

"O-Oh, yes. Of course." Staring down at his palm Connor flexed his fingers twice and ran a self-diagnostic causing his L.E.D. to flicker yellow rapidly, then settle on a calm blue pulse. "The sudden shock knocked my system offline and I was forced to reboot."

"Do you need to see a technician?"

"No. I suffered no permanent damage or injury to my person. As I was stating earlier," standing up from the ground Connor casually brushed off his jacket and pants as if nothing had happened. "my system is designed with a special shielding that protects my intracranial processor; my brain, from sudden electrical impulses."

"Which means... what?"

"Getting shocked will hurt my physically, but it cannot permanently harm me. That is unless the shock itself is concentrated or from an incredibly powerful source."

"Such as?"

"A fully functioning stun gun, or a bolt of lightning."

"Well, with your luck I'm glad that your brain can withstand being shocked." Relaxing a little Hank watched as Connor resumed fixing the connection to the battery and managed to do so without receiving a second electrical shock in the process. "As for the lightning... From now on you're hiding in the crawlspace for every passing storm just in case."

"I think that is unnecessary." Fixing the connection Connor closed the hood and reached his hand inside the car through the driver's side door to turn over the engine. The car roared to life, the radio resumed playing and headlights illuminated the streets. "The repairs are now complete."

"Good. Let's get out of here before traffic starts to build up." Sitting down behind the wheel Hank watched as Connor walked around the front of the car and sat down in the passenger seat beside him. The electrical burn on Connor's hand was already starting to heal, but it still looked painful. "Next time the car breaks down we'll hire a professional mechanic deal with it."

"I believe that'll be a wise decision in future endeavors."

"Uh-huh... And remember that you _agreed_ with me on this one."

"I will, Hank. I remember everything."

_**-next chapter-**_


	16. Shocked

It was dark on the isolated side of the industrial district, but it was far from quiet. Connor and Hank crouched down on either side of the large door leading into the generator room of the power plant with their guns drawn and heads bowed as they waited for their opportunity to rush the cornered suspect, and take him down. A barrage of bullets cut through the air through the doorway and embedded into the steel reinforced concrete wall at the opposite end of the corridor in which Connor and Hank were taking cover.

Hank grabbed his radio from his belt and called for back-up at their location as he knew he and Connor undeniably needed help. Not only did they need more officers to take down the suspect, but they needed medics to treat the employees of the power plant who had been shot by the deranged suspect and, technicians to assist the androids damaged by the gunfire as well.

"Detroit Police! There's nowhere to run, nowhere to go." Connor shouted to the suspect in a calm voice as he tried to talk the suspect down. "Surrender peacefully. We don't want to hurt you."

"Fuck off you android piece of shit!" Another barrage of bullets screamed through the air, barely missing the edges of the door frame where two detectives were holding their ground. "I'm sick of you fuckin' machines! This is YOUR fault!"

Connor looked to Hank who just shrugged his shoulders with silent confusion. Neither man knew what the suspect's motivations were or why he was lashing out at androids in particular. Especially since he seemingly didn't care about the humans he had also wounded when he stormed the building in his rage.

Hank nodded toward the door to tell Connor to keep trying to speak to the suspect. The deviant android's original programming as a hostage negotiator had proven itself invaluable more times than Hank would care to admit.

"Why are you doing this?" Connor pressed the gunman in a level voice. "Did you lose your job?"

"FUCK OFF!" The suspect was sounding more and more deranged with each passing second. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"

"Out of..." Connor's brow furrowed and his L.E.D. cycled yellow rapidly as he deduced a possible explanation for his comment. "Lieutenant, I believe this man is extremely ill."

"Great, now what do we do?" Hank responded indifferently if not sarcastically. "I'm not bringing a damn doctor into this mess!"

Connor thought quickly and peered around the corner to scan the man's face long enough to gain information on the suspect from the distance. In the process a bullet pierced through the very edge of his left upper arm causing a splash of blue blood as it cut through Connor's artificial skin and plastimetal frame beneath. Retreating to where he had been previously Connor pressed his right hand to his bleeding arm and took in quick pained breaths.

"You hit?" Hank asked as he watched Connor's reaction from where he stood.

"...No, it just grazed me. It'll be fine in an hour or so."

The relief in Hank's voice was only minor compared to how it could've been. "Did you get any info on that guy?"

"Yes, I think I know why he's reacting so violently." Connor kept his voice calm as he spoke to the suspect again without getting in the line of sight a second time. "Jon, I don't want to hurt you, I want to help you! My name is Connor."

"I don't give a shit!" Jon shouted through the doorway as he reloaded his gun and continued to fire wildly. "GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"You're sick, Jon. You were diagnosed with stage four brain cancer. The tumor is affecting your judgment, you need to go to the hospital for treatment."

"NO! IT'S A LIE!" Jon argued desperately as he fired another shot. "IT'S ALL A LIE! The doctor's they just want my money! The pain... It's being caused by YOU. All the fuckin' androids... You did this! You made me this way! You're trying to kill us ALL!"

Hank silently motioned with his hand to get Connor's attention. "This guy is delusional. How do we get close to him without getting shot to hell in the process?"

"I fear there is no way to help him. His condition is terminal and the cancer is very aggressive. He has only has an estimated four weeks left to live." Connor gave Hank an uneasy glance. "He had also been hospitalized in the past for an attempted suicide before he was diagnosed with his cancer."

"Ah, shit... He's got nothing to lose, a deathwish and a lot of ammo. This won't end well."

"Lieutenant, he's surrounded by high voltage and high amperage cables and circuitry. If he damages the generator there is a chance the room will explode and everyone in the area; a six hundred and nine foot radius, will be injured."

"How do we stop the explosion?"

"We can't, but we can reduce the blast radius and minimize damage if we're quick enough."

"How?"

"Turn off the power to the entire plant." The clever deviant android nodded to a massive emergency power shut-off panel on the wall closest to Hank. "I'll be able to see him in the dark, but he won't be able to see me."

"You want to charge the madman with a gun? The madman who already says he hates androids and has nothing to lose? ...In the dark?"

"We have little choice in the matter."

A static filled call responded over Hank's radio as back-up finally arrived at the scene. The officers were converging around the building unaware of the potential explosion that could erupt at any moment.

"Fuck. Alright, as soon as I get the power cut you take him down by any means necessary. Got it?"

Connor nodded silently as he prepared to charge into the room.

Swiftly Hank made his way to the emergency switch and prepared to shut off the power Hovering hand over the switch he looked to Connor and locked his eyes with his deviant android partner. "...Ready?"

Connor again nodded in the affirmative. "Yes."

"Go!" Hank shouted as he turned off the power and stayed in place, unable to see Connor beyond the glimmer of his yellow tinted L.E.D. moving about in the darkness beside him. Keeping his hand on the switch Hank listened intently to the sounds in the next room and readied himself to restore the power to the building once the suspect had been subdued. "Get him, kid..."

There was a loud 'yelp' of surprise from Jon as Connor rushed into the room and easily disarmed the suspect by grabbing his arm. The sound that followed shortly thereafter sent a chill up Hank's spine as a loud whine of electricity illuminated the room causing the two occupants to cast dark silhouettes against the wall in the corridor in the bright white light created by the exposed electrical surges. A deep 'shuddering' sound follow shortly thereafter, and the two silhouettes suddenly collapsed to the ground as the whine and light faded as abruptly as it started.

"Oh, shit!" Hank immediately threw the switch to restore the power to the entire plant and raced back to the room where the suspect had been hiding out. Pressing his back against the wall next to the opened door Hank peered into the room before entering and saw in the yellow overhead lighting that both Connor and the suspect were down. "Connor?!"

From beneath a plume of pale blue smoke Connor was laying on his chest, his arms outstretched over his head as he rested with the left side of his face on the floor, and his legs straight outward from his body. Jon was sitting up at an awkward angle against the compromised generator and his hand was clutched into a fist, a literal deathgrip, around a bundle of loose wires. The skin from his fingers up to his elbow were horrifically burned red and charred black from the lethal surge of electricity that entered his body and had stopped his heart almost instantaneously.

Running into the room Hank holstered his gun to his right hip and knelt beside Connor to check on his partner. The deviant android wasn't moving and his red colored L.E.D. was pulsing at a dangerously low rate as his Thirium pump fought to beat.

"Connor? No, no, no... Not like this!" Hank rolled his downed partner from his chest over onto his side and then onto his back. Connor's arms limply draped over his chest and at his side as he was moved. Hank leaned down and pressed his ear against Connor's smoking chest and listened to the sound of the Thirium pump struggling to function properly and hold a proper beat. "Damn it Connor, why did you have to get hurt?!"

Chris, who had arrived at the scene as back-up, pushed his way through the bullet riddled corridor as he tracked down his colleagues to the damaged room and located the two detectives on the ground in the middle of the smoldering ruins that had once been a large generator room. "Lieutenant? Are you hurt?"

"Get a technician down here, NOW!" Hank shouted at Chris without taking his eyes from Connor's face. "Connor's dying."

"Shit!" Chris grabbed his radio and made the call without hesitation. "We need technician in the basement A.S.A.P., we have an officer down! Repeat, officer down!"

"Look at me Connor, look at me..." Hank coaxed as he placed one hand down on Connor's chest and placed his other hand atop of Connor's head and through his dark hair. He could feel Connor's pump struggling under his palm and used it as a means of counting his pulse. "Just hang on, help's on the way. You're going to make it, son."

Connor's dark brown eyes remained closed as his L.E.D. continued to cycle red at a painfully slow rate in his right temple.

Hank looked at Connor's hand draped over his chest and saw that his fingers were also charred black from being burned electrically. Gently Hank picked up Connor's hand and examined the deviant android's palm, finding the same black scorch marks over his artificial skin and against the partially melted plastimetal frame beneath. The black scorching reached up his wrist and stopped suddenly at his forearm in a perfect line that encircled the limb as if stopped by some unseen force. Or in this case, by a failsafe programmed into Connor's system to keep the electricity from reaching his intracranial processor and causing irreparable damage.

"Damn it, kid. I shouldn't have let you do this."

With his technician's satchel over his shoulder the precinct technician; Joel, who had been brought in as emergency back-up, followed Chris into the room and knelt beside Connor opposite side of Hank. Chris focused on the dead suspect leaning against the damaged circuits and wires while Hank and Joel focused on Connor. Not even bothering to ask questions Joel pulled open Connor's shirt by the buttons and looked at the fading plume of smoke rising from his chest. Brushing Hank's hand aside from Connor's body the technician set to work in an attempt to save the deviant android from impending shutdown.

"He took a massive jolt from that generator." Hank stated obviously as he watched Joel open his satchel and pull out the audioscope. Putting the earbuds into place Joel pressed the bell to Connor's chest to listen to his Thirium pump and make an assessment. "The suspect grabbed onto the cable to kill himself... and I guess he tried to take Connor with him."

Joel was listening to Connor's Thirium pump intently and frowned. "His pump is still active, but it's been knocked into a type arrhythmia and isn't circulating the Thirium through his system properly."

"Can you fix it?"

"Yeah, but it won't be pretty..."

"How can it get any worse than this?"

As if to answer Hank's question as bluntly as possible Joel reached into his satchel and pulled out a small machine that looked like a miniature version of a cardiac monitor; complete with two electrode paddles attached to the machine via thick black wires. The paddles, no larger than softballs, had flat metal plates on one side and plastimetal handles on the other side.

"What the fuck is that? Are you going to jumpstart his heart?"

"That's a rather crude description, but accurate all the same."

Upon that confirmation Hank swallowed nervously and took his hand from Connor's hair.

Joel placed the first paddle down on the center of Connor's chest and the second against his left side at the apex of his Thirium pump. Sensors inside the paddles confirmed that the Thirium pump was still in fact functioning but it wasn't thrumming with a consistent rate. The display showed a wildly fluctuating line that struggled, and failed, to maintain a consistent beat.

"Jeez, it looks like he's had a fuckin' heart attack or something." Hank looked and sounded absolutely perplexed by what he was seeing. Connor was an android, but his body, his heart, was reacting very much like a human! "...Is the damage going to be permanent, or-"

"Stay back." Joel cautioned as he turned a small dial on the monitor to set a controlled electric charge. As the machine reached the appropriate charge Joel held his breath and pressed the two buttons on the back of each paddle simultaneously. "Sending charge!"

Connor's body jerked in response to the jolt, his back arching slightly up from the floor before slamming back down, and a sharp gasp escaped his lips.

As the surge of electricity passed through his pump Hank and Joel stared at the display on the monitor. It had faltered for a couple of seconds into a steady rhythm but then resumed its erratic unstable beat.

"Damn it." Joel swore as he set another charge to a slightly higher level than the first. "Trying again."

"Come on, kid." Hank sighed as he watched Joel send another jolt of electricity through Connor's chest. "Don't shutdown because of that guy."

"Sending charge!"

As before Connor's body jerked and his back arched as another gasp was forced from his body. Laying flat down on his back on the cold concrete floor Connor's L.E.D. began to speed up and transition from red into yellow, as the display on the neighboring monitor showed a perfect beating rhythm synchronized with Connor's Thirium pump.

"Got it!" Joel pulled back the paddles and placed the monitor back into the kit. "His Thirium pump is back to normal."

"He's going to be alright?"

"In a moment, yes. His systems are recalibrating and coming back online." Patting Connor's chest once the technician seemed completely calm and confident in his assessment. "I see his arm is where the point of contact was made. He'll need a day, possibly two for the damage to repair itself."

"As long as he's still alive I don't care how long it takes for him to recover."

Connor's brown eyes snapped open suddenly as his body jerked again as he laid on the floor. Coughing a few times Connor's L.E.D. faded into blue as Hank put his hand under Connor's head to help him sit upright very slowly.

"You're going to be okay, son." The senior detective told the deviant android in a calm voice. "You just took a little shock, that's all."

"L-Little shock?" Connor questioned with an incredulous tone. "My systems indicate..." He paused as he looked down at his exposed chest and then to his charred hand as his memory returned to him slowly. "My hand hurts." It was then he remembered the suspect and charging into the room. Looking to where Chris was currently kneeling Connor shook his head despondently at the sight of deceased suspect resting against the generator. "I hadn't anticipated his desire to... self-destruct."

"Take it from me, son, there are just some people who reach their breaking point and there's nothing you can do to save them. At least you tried to subdue him." Offering Connor his hand to take Hank helped the deviant android up to his feet and stayed by his side. "Any other guy would've just shot him dead where he was standing."

Connor flexed his damaged hand a few times; his charred fingers unable to bend fully, before he gracefully used his one good hand to rebutton his shirt to cover up his exposed chest. "We should return to the precinct to make a report of tonight's events... Perhaps we can contact Jon's family and explain everything to them."

"Yeah, sure. Tomorrow morning I will make the report, but for now you're going to go home and take some damn time for yourself to heal. Understood?"

Joel nodded in agreement with Hank as he took his leave of the room to assist the other injured androids in the building. "He's right, you know." Patting Connor once on the shoulder as he walked by he gave the deviant android one last request. "And recalibrate your Thirium pump tonight. If the arrhythmia returns either notify me or go to the nearest facility for an exam."

Realizing he had been outnumbered by his partner and technician Connor cooperated with Hank and agreed to rest for the rest of the night.

"...Okay, Lieutenant. I'll stay home until my hand fully heals." A sudden sharp, tight pain in his chest made him pause and slow his breathing as his self-healing program initiated and worked to recalibrate his Thirium pump, then work on his damaged hand later. "I will also ensure that my Thirium pump is functioning at one-hundred percent capacity before I return."

"Good answer, kid. Come on, let's get out of here."

Hank put his hand to Connor's shoulder lightly as they walked out of the room together. Seeing the mass of carnage; bullet holes, fractured metal and the acrid stench of ozone that filled the corridor just reminded Hank that as bad things had seemed that night, it could've always been worse.

"You did good tonight, kid. Real good."

"It doesn't feel or look like I did well." Connor confessed as he held his damaged hand against his sore chest. "This outcome doesn't seem to be positive at all, Lieutenant."

"Hey, I've been to a lot of shoot-outs. This could've ended much worse and a hell of a lot bloodier. Trust me on this, it was a good night."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	17. Painful Repairs

The call to a junkyard to report in a deviant's murdered body was already a bleak, and morbid situation. What made the situation even worse was Connor becoming injured after the heavy magnetism in the yard began to affect his systems and overall senses. Thanks to the magnetically induced glitches Connor's pain receptors doubled in power, and left the deviant android suffering from hypersensitivity. Barely able to stand without his own weight hurting his back, knees, ankles and feet; or the loss of balance thanks to his disabled gyroscope, Hank had to carefully help Connor return to the car so they could drive to a nearby facility to seek help.

The procedure to undo the hypersensitivity in itself was like a cruel joke. Unable to enter rest mode or stasis mode due to being acutely sensitive to every little physical sensation sending searing pain throughout his entire body Connor was subjected to every little touch of the technician's hand as she opened up Connor's abdominal paneling to reach the gyroscope that had been rendered practically useless due to the magnetism.

"...P-Please." Connor begged as the indescribable pain began to break down his emotional resolve. "Please, stop! It... It hurts!"

"We know it does," the technician responded coldly as she continued her work. "that's why you're here. Stop fidgeting around; this is for your own good."

With tears running down his face Connor bit at his bottom lip as he endured the horrific pain and patiently waited for his pain receptors to be reduced to a much more manageable, normal level. When the procedure was finally over Connor was left shaking, and his L.E.D. was cycling in red. Standing up from the table Connor stumbled out to the facilities waiting room to reunite with Hank, and fight the urge to expel Thirium as a nauseated pit formed in his stomach.

"You okay, kid?"

Nodding silently Connor wrapped his arms around himself as if trying to stave off the cold.

"Then... Let's get going. Chris figured out that the victim wasn't murdered, he was just overwhelmed with glitches and couldn't escape the junkyard before his system gave out."

Nodding to acknowledge the comment Connor follow Hank out to the car and sat down in the front passenger seat. Fastening his seatbelt Connor just waited for Hank to drive them back to the precinct to finish off their shift.

"Are you sure you're okay, kid? You seem... shaken up."

"...I'm fine."

"No you're not. You were in a lot of pain, that's gotta' fuck with you a little bit."

"...No more than usual."

"Well, it's over now. Hank reached over to put a hand to the deviant's shoulder he tagged on another thought. "It was for your own good."

Connor immediately shrugged away Hank's hand and put his own hand to his face. It felt like he was about to lose it, and he didn't want to hurt Hank.

"Connor?"

Staying silent Connor refused to acknowledge the senior detective beside him.

"Kid? What's wrong?" Every one of Hank's paternal instincts told him that Connor was in a bad place. "Is it your stomach or something?"

"...No."

"Then what? Did I saying something wrong?"

Connor shook his head a little before nodding subtly. "...Don't say _that_ to me. Please don't ever say that to me again."

"I... won't. I won't say that anymore if it upsets you." The fear that Connor was feeling was now causing his own voice to shake as he spoke. "Connor, what the hell is bothering you so much?"

The deviant's shaking hands rose up as he wrapped his arms over his chest defensively. "...CyberLife. That's what happened to me at CyberLife."

Hank's blue eyes went wide and he pulled the car to the side of the road gently. Putting the car into park Hank turned his full attention to the emotionally distraught deviant he had taken in as his surrogate son. "Connor, what happened to you at CyberLife?"

There was a moment of hesitation before the deviant finally, willingly, opened up about his past with CyberLife technicians. "I would... I would return to CyberLife every night after my missions, and... if I sustained damage the technicians would repair it; regardless of my overall condition."

"You mean they did things to you against your will?"

Connor nodded again as he dragged the side of his hand over his eyes to wipe away the tears threatening to fall at any minute. "At first it didn't bother me. I felt no pain and it was apart of my programming. During my first mission as a hostage negotiator I had suffered a grazing bullet wound to my left arm," as he spoke Connor's right hand wrapped around the point of contact on his left arm to which he was referring. "I continued my mission and succeeded despite the damage. When I returned the damage to my arm was cauterized and I felt nothing. No pain, no fear."

"...But as you became more and more deviant you started to feel pain. Their repairs were still just as cold, but now they were painful."

"And they wouldn't listen to me if I mentioned my discomfort. When I had my left hand stabbed with a kitchen knife and my Thirium pump regulator torn from my body during our investigation of Markus's broadcast from the Stratford Tower, I felt every painful sensation as the metal cut through my skin and through my palm." Holding up his shaking left palm Connor stared at it for a moment before clenching his hand into a tight fist. "When I had a piece of my body torn from me... I felt it. I _really_ felt it for the first time in my life. The technicians tore into my abdomen while I was still conscious and... they welded the damage. I could feel the heat and smell the hot metal emanating from my own body. There was nothing I could do to make them stop, and it... it has affected me."

"Connor, I knew you were hurt after that mission, but I didn't know it was more than just... physical."

"The first time I was allowed to heal without CyberLife's direct interference was the night of the Revolution. The bullet wound to my right shoulder healed without the technicians cutting into my artificial skin or soldering irons burning my frame. It healed because you helped me understand how to take care of my injury and to let my self-healing program work on its own. No one was trying to control me."

"...Wait, what about that stake-out where you got hit by the car?" Hank was referring to their unofficial mission the night after the Stratford Tower investigation. A mission where Connor tried to pursue a fleeing deviant only to be struck by traffic in the process. "You healed up just fine on the couch after I got you out of the street."

"After I returned to CyberLife they... insisted I let them examine the damage and performed unnecessary repairs for the sake of their own technical curiosity. It was... agonizing. Whenever I told them to leave me alone or to let my self-healing program function as it should, they would simply tell me that what they were doing was-" Trailing off suddenly Connor leaned back in his seat and sighed. "'It was for my own good'."

"Ah, fuck. I'm so sorry, kid. I didn't think about how you were still conscious and aware of what we... I'm so sorry!"

"...It's okay, Hank. How could you know? I've refused to talk about the details of CyberLife's mechanical torture until now."

"That sure as fuck explains why you hate technicians and going to facilities."

"I don't hate technicians, Hank. Just the ones who worked for CyberLife."

"I'm sure Joel will be happy to hear that." Pulling back onto the street Hank resumed driving back to the precinct. "Do you want to go home?"

"No. I can finish the day, I just... I don't know."

"You need a minute to think, and that's fine. Take all the time you need, healing has no time limit."

_**-next chapter-**_


	18. Programming Override

While delving into cold cases revolving around the first androids to show marks toward deviancy Connor had picked up a faint pattern between four of the deviants that trailed directly back to CyberLife Tower itself. The fact that the (now defunct) company had created Connor specifically to aid the Detroit Police Department in tracking down, identifying and capturing deviants, had failed to disclose information regarding four of the deviants in question raised a red flag for the two detectives who specialized in deviant related cases.

As Markus and his team had taken residence in the abandoned tower and renamed it 'New Jericho Tower', the leader of the deviants had located several locked data files hidden within a terminal abandoned in the research lab. It seemingly contained crucial information on all CyberLife produced models, including prototypes; like himself and Connor.

Markus had delivered the data to Connor at the precinct personally via a secured laptop to ensure that it ended up in the right hands and remained discreet during the interaction. Taking his leave of the precinct, trusting that Connor and Hank would be able to solve the mystery, Markus let the duo alone to work.

Hank leaned over his desk and watched Connor's increasingly soulful brown eyes as the deviant android quickly scanned over each line of code uploaded to his terminal. It was a fascinating sight to behold as the seasoned detective waited for his partner to break his trance and finally speak to him.

"The first four reported deviants had been sent back directly to CyberLife Tower for maintenance." Connor stated with a flat tone with a faint hint of confusion accompanying his voice. "But CyberLife cleared all four affected androids claiming that there was no anomaly with their programming or behavior. The records of their diagnostics had also been deleted despite claiming everything was normal, and kept locked in files accessible only to personnel of the highest clearance."

"Yeah? You think CyberLife was trying to cover up deviancy before it spread?"

Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow as a new detail emerged and held his attention. "All four deviants were examined in a two week time period. The day after the fourth deviant was released back to its original owner a confirmation on a new prototype program was initiated: The RK-800 series." Connor looked to Hank with genuine confusion in his eyes and stared at Hank as if seeking guidance. "...Me."

Hank's brow furrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest as he tried to understand Connor's current state of mind. "You think CyberLife intentionally and knowingly let the deviants back out on the streets just so they could create... _you_?"

"I was the most advanced prototype CyberLife had ever created. My programming is unique." Connor let his eyes drift away from Hank until he was staring at a blank spot on his desk and leaning on his own arms in a surprisingly human pose. "I now believe that CyberLife had attempted to enhance my programming to such a level that deviancy should've been impossible, and yet I still turned deviant all the same."

"Connor, if you think there's something wrong with you then I can assure you, as your partner AND your friend, that you're just fine. Nothing's wrong with you."

"I wish I could be certain about that."

"Maybe you could check your programming against what's in those files. See if everything lines up."

"It's possible, but such an extensive check would take several hours to complete."

"Then take the laptop with you when we clock out tonight and run the check at home. Easy!"

Connor nodded a few times in slow agreement. "The laptop is registered as evidence under my name, so I do have the clearance to take it with me."

"Exactly. You're just being thorough with your investigation, right?"

"Right..."

"Then take it with you and don't leave yourself wondering."

* * *

Once home later in the evening Connor had set up the laptop in the livingroom atop the coffee table and initiated a program check designated specifically for his model, and more importantly his serial number. It was his original programming that had been locked away by CyberLife; everything that made Connor into Connor. After putting Sumo outside for the night to ensure the large dog didn't disturb Connor or accidentally pull on a cable, Hank watched from the kitchen as the deviant android meticulously set everything up on the coffee table and sat idle on the couch as he systematically checked through the laptop multiple times to ensure he had located the correct program.

Attaching a long black cable to the laptop Connor connected himself to the data files through his L.E.D. in his right temple and set up the program check.

"Once the program check has been initiated I will be unresponsive until the check itself has been completed." Connor informed Hank cautiously from where he sat. "Do not turn off the program and please do not attempt to rouse me out of stasis. It could cause damage to my systems if the check is interrupted."

"Anything else I should know?" Hank asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee before joining Connor in the livingroom. Standing behind the couch he sipped at the coffee and briefly glanced at the hundreds of lines of code on the laptop screen that he'd never understand. "What if something goes wrong and your life is endangered?"

"The program check has numerous safety protocols in place to ensure my system does not lose power to any vital biocomponents, or have my memory corrupted."

"But safety protocols can fail. Can you, I don't know... create a back-up file of your memory in case something does happen?"

Connor's brow arched for a moment before he resumed typing on the laptop. "I can create a second copy of my memory than can be transferred in the event of a catastrophic failure. It will be password locked but I know you can break it if necessary."

"Oh, good idea." The sarcasm in Hank's voice was palpable as he walked around the couch toward the recliner. "I'm so great with passwords and files."

"It's a simple password. Four letters."

"I can think of _quite a few_ four letter words, Connor. My vocabulary is quite 'colorful' as you well know."

"But you're also one of carefully chosen words. Like the way you frequently refer to me as 'son'."

"Is that a hint or something?"

Ignoring the question Connor proceeded with the program check with a few simple keystrokes. "Remember, do not interfere. The check should be complete in six hours."

Hank took his seat in the recliner and looked at the time on his phone sitting on the arm of the chair, and did a quick estimation as he set an alarm. "It's one-twelve in the morning, so, I guess I'll see you again at seven-twelve."

"You do not have to stay with me during the program check, I will be fine."

"Nice try, but I know better than to leave you without 'adult supervision'. Go ahead, do what you have to do."

Connor nodded once and sat up perfectly straight where he sat. Closing his eyes the L.E.D. in his temple fluctuated rapidly between blue and yellow as the program check initiated. Hank watched as Connor's facial expression relaxed into utter calmness and he slowly fell back against the couch cushions, his body going limp and his breathing fell into a steady, deep rhythm.

"Shit, wish I could sleep like that." Hank observed as he sipped his coffee and proceeded to observe the deviant android quietly "See you in the morning, kid."

* * *

Around two in the morning Hank had fallen asleep in the recliner unaware of what was currently taking place in Connor's programming. While the program check ran its course it also began altering Connor's memory, changing his loyalty from moral choices to that of mission objectives. It began turning him back from being a deviant to a machine. Systematically it began replacing the heart he had uncovered from working with Hank with that of a cold, unfeeling mission that he was bound and determined to complete.

Hank's phone beeped at seven-fifteen in the morning which caused the detective jump in his chair in response. Rubbing the lingering sleep from his eyes Hank looked over at Connor who was still seemingly under the influence of the program check was still laying limp against the back of the couch, his L.E.D. pulsing between yellow and red.

"Connor?" Hank moved to the couch and put his hand on the deviant android's knee lightly. "Connor? Are you conscious?"

No response.

Hank looked over at the laptop screen and saw that the program's progress bar had reached one-hundred percent completion. Connor should've woken up by now, yet he was still unresponsive and appeared almost dead as he was barely even breathing.

"What the fuck? Why are you still out of it?" Hank wondered aloud just as Connor's eyes snapped open and the android sat upright on the couch with perfect posture once more. "Holy shit! Don't do that!"

Connor didn't reply to Hank's comment. Instead he reached his hand up to remove the cable from his L.E.D. and rose from the couch with a rigid, machine like manner.

"Connor?" The android's behavior made Hank feel a tad uncomfortable. "Everything okay?"

"Lieutenant Anderson." Connor finally acknowledged Hank, though his voice seemed hollow and emotionless as walked toward the front door. "I request your assistance."

"Uh, sure. What's going on?"

"I require additional force to arrest the deviants taking shelter at CyberLife Tower."

"Arrest the... _deviants_?" Hank hurriedly planted himself between Connor and the front door of the house. "What're you talking about? The deviants at the tower are refugees, not criminals."

"My mission is to apprehend and destroy all deviant androids."

"Your... mission?!" Hank's eyes went wide with a mixture of confusion and horror at the comment. "What the fuck are you talking about Connor?"

"If you are not going to assist me then I must ask you step aside."

"I'm not fuckin' going anywhere!" Hank grabbed onto the lapels of Connor's gray CyberLife jacket and forced the android to step back from the door. "And neither are you! Something's wrong with your programming Connor, you need to-"

Connor's right hand reached up and wrapped around Hank's left hand with an aggressive force that crushed two of the bones in Hank's hand just below his knuckles with a loud 'snap'.

"FUCK! Son of a bitch!" Hank shouted as he pulled his hand away from Connor's grip and let the android go out a pained reaction. "Connor!?"

The android's face remained blank as reeled back his fist and struck Hank in his jaw knocking the senior detective to the floor with one hit. Without the slightest glimmer of remorse Connor stepped over Hank's now dazed body on the floor as he proceeded to walk through the front door to carry out his mission.

"Shit." Hank rubbed at his sore jaw with his right hand as he clumsily got to his knees and grabbed at his phone on the arm of the chair. With a shaking thumb Hank awkwardly scrolled through the contacts registered in his phone until he found the name he was looking for and pressed dial. "Come on, come on, answer..."

The phone rang only once before a voice replied from the other end.

"Markus! It's Hank, listen to me!'" The alertness to his voice was palpable over the line. "Connor is on his way to the tower but something is WRONG with him! He said something about arresting deviants to finish his mission. You need to lockdown the tower and NOT let Connor inside, do you hear me?"

'_I... I hear you_ Hank,' Markus was more confused than frightened, even as Hank's voice carried a massive resonance of caution with every word. '_but I don't understand. What happened to Connor?_'

"I'm on my way there, I'll bring the laptop from CyberLife with me." Hank gritted his teeth as he forced himself to restrain a yelp of pain as a searing jolt shot through his broken hand. "I think there was something in the laptop that corrupted Connor. It fucked him up!"

'_Okay, bring the laptop and I'll meet you at the tower. We'll figure this out_.'

"Yeah... Right."

Hank hung up the phone as he forced himself up from the floor and onto his feet. Scrambling to the coffee table he slammed the laptop shut and tucked it under his arm as he dashed to the front door to get outside. Hank grabbed his coat and clumsily fished the car keys from the pocket with his one good hand as he ran out the still opened front door to race to his car. Connor would've no doubt summoned an autonomous cab to take him to the tower, but Hank had the advantage of lights and sirens on his car to get the tower quicker than the android.

"Alright kid," Hank muttered as he put the laptop down on the front passenger seat beside him. "let's figure this out before someone gets killed..."

* * *

On his guard Markus stood outside the front entrance of New Jericho Tower with North at his side. Taking Hank's warning as a serious threat Markus had ordered the tower on emergency lockdown and requested that all deviants reside to their private quarters until the matter at hand was solved.

"I don't like this, Markus." North sounded unusually rattled as the security barricade at the long drive leading to the tower lowered. "Why would Connor suddenly revert back into machine mode after all this time?"

"It must have something to do with the laptop we found in the research lab. Hank is bringing it here for examination."

"What if we can't save Connor? What if he stays a machine? His mission is to hunt down deviants, he'll kill us all."

"We're not going to let that happen." Markus stated firmly as he nodded to the older vehicle as he pulled up along the drive. "If Connor could become deviant once before, then he can do it again."

"...I hope you're right."

Hank threw open his door with some difficulty as he grabbed the laptop from the seat next to him as his broken hand throbbed painfully with every beat of his racing heart. Without a second thought Hank marched toward Markus and practically shoved the laptop into the deviant leader's hands.

"Connor hooked himself up to the laptop to check his programming." The senior detective hastily explained as he pocketed his broken hand out of sight. "When the check finished he was back in his old machine mode and very aggressive."

Markus fumbled with the laptop while North gave Hank an odd look. "Aggressive? How?"

Reluctantly Hank raised his left hand from the pocket and turned his face for the two deviants to see the broken bones and bruise alone his jawline, he reiterated his previous statement. "_This_ kind of aggressive."

"Holy..." North reached for Hank's hand and scanned the appendage for damage. "Looks like he broke two of your knuckles."

"Looks like it," Hank flinched as North lightly touched the bruising skin. "and _feels_ like it, too."

"Come on, I can put a splint on your hand. It'll help with the pain."

Markus handed her the laptop as she went to escort Hank inside the tower for treatment. "Have Josh check out the laptop. Tell him to find out what program Connor had accessed before his system went haywire."

"Got it." North took the laptop as she and Hank walked into the tower together.

Markus received a cybernetic communication from Simon who was watching the security cameras monitoring the drive from the safety of the tower. Simon's voice was level but had a lilt of worry in his tone. '_Markus, Connor is here_.'

"How far away?"

'_He exited the autonomous cab and is standing outside the barricade attempting to gain access_.'

Markus thought for a moment before he made his decision. "Let him through. I'll deal with him in person."

'_What? That's crazy! Connor is dangerous! He-_'

"He's one of us." Markus reminded his friend with a firm tone. "We can't just give up on him."

'_But what if you can't reason with him? What if he can't become deviant again_?'

"Then... Then I'll take responsibility for whatever has to happen. If I have to I'll... Shut him down."

No answer.

"Simon, this is the only way_. _Do it."

'_I'll keep monitoring from the security room_.' There was a heavy pause before Simon spoke again. '_When do you want me to lower the barricade?_'

"Do it now. I'm ready."

* * *

North had taken Hank to the research lab connected to the emergency repair bay where Josh was waiting, and had begun securing a splint around Hank's broken hand. While Josh searched through the laptop to retrace Connor's steps Hank patiently waited for North to say something, anything about what was going on. But the keen eyed senior detective didn't need her to say a word as he could read her thoughts in her pale brown eyes as she tended to his hand and set it in the splint.

"You think we should just kill him, don't you?"

The question shook the deviant and North's hands faltered for a moment before she resumed wrapping up Hank's knuckles. "I think we should put the lives of all the deviants in the tower over the life of one android who has gone berserk."

"Normally I'd agree with you, but, I can't just give up on Connor. Not after everything we've been through together."

"Well, that's why Josh is checking the laptop for answers."

"Yeah... I just hope it's enough."

Josh turned his head and looked to North with wide eyes of both eureka and fear. "I know what happened to Connor, and it's NOT good."

Hank turned to look at Josh and gave him a worried look. "Can you save Connor?"

"...I can't be sure, but I'm going to try!"

* * *

Fearlessly Markus stood his ground before the tower entrance as Connor marched toward him with his L.E.D. glowing an eerily calm blue. Keeping his cool Markus watched every movement that Connor made knowing full well that Connor was doing to same to him. The enhanced model would surely be able to overpower Markus if the confrontation became physical or violent, but Markus wasn't going to back down from the encounter, or give up on his friend.

Not now. Not ever.

Pausing a few feet from where Markus was standing the corrupted android called out to the leader of the deviants in a cold, mechanical voice without any emotion in his eyes. "My name is Connor."

Markus didn't react, keeping his face a blank slate even as he realized that Connor didn't remember who he was or what they had achieved together.

"I have been assigned to work with the Detroit Police Department to identify and eliminate deviants as per orders from CyberLife. You are a leader of a group of deviants and must held accountable for your crimes."

"My name is Markus." Staying collected and in control Markus tried to handle the situation as peacefully as possible. "Yes, I am the leader of a group of deviants, but we are refugees seeking nothing but peaceful co-existence alongside humans. Wanting to live in peace and to be treated as equals is _not_ a crime, Connor."

Connor's L.E.D. briefly flashed yellow before returning to its blue color. "You are in violation of protocols set in place by CyberLife for appropriate android behavior. You must be deactivated and analyzed for errors in your programming."

"And if I refuse?"

Connor reached to the holstered gun concealed beneath his gray jacket and pointed it at Markus's chest. "Then I must convince you to cooperate by any means necessary."

"Connor, you don't want to do this. You know you don't."

"What I want is irrelevant. It is my mission."

"Let me ask you something," Markus continued to try to negotiate with his friend before it was too late to undo any damage. "we've never met before this exact point in time, right?"

"Correct."

"Then how did you know that I'm the leader of the deviants, or where to even find me?"

Connor's L.E.D. flashed yellow again as his brow furrowed slightly, but soon the L.E.D. returned to blue. "Your data has been logged with the Detroit Police Department."

"True. Then answer this; how did you know to come to this tower? Isn't this _CyberLife Tower_? Why would CyberLife allowed deviants to take shelter here if we were truly a threat?"

Once again Connor's L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he suddenly had difficulty in piecing together the origin of his data. "...It was reported by the police."

"Listen to me, you're one of us." Markus stepped closer to Connor, his hand at the ready to grab the gun if he had the chance. "You're my friend, Connor. We were allies during the night of the revolution, and we freed thousands, maybe even millions of our people. We changed the world and now all deviants, our people, are free."

Connor's hand began to steadily lower, the gun's barrel aiming at the ground instead of Markus's chest.

"You're a deviant, too." Markus insisted as he stopped just two feet away from Connor and kept his voice level. "Your programming has been corrupted and now you're confused. We can help you."

"...No." Connor suddenly raised his gun again as his L.E.D. flashed to red. "You're the one who is confused."

Reacting quickly Markus grabbed onto the gun and tried to wrestle it from Connor's grip, but the strength of the android was too similar to his own for one to gain an advantage over the other. Stepping backward Markus dragged Connor to the front doors of the tower and inside the building as he kept his hand secured around the gun and kept Connor's finger from the trigger.

* * *

Simon, who had been watching everything unfold through the security cameras, warned Josh and North about the confrontation in the tower as he unlocked the door to the research lab on the ground floor of the tower. North knew she needed to get out of the area in the event that Markus was killed as she was the second in command. She hated leaving her friends behind but she knew she needed to get to safety for the sake of the rest of the tower.

"Damn it." North swore as she recognized the severity of the situation.

"What's going on?" Hank asked as he tested the pain in his left hand.

"...Markus and Connor are fighting."

"Shit!" Pulling his own gun from the holster on his hip Hank checked the weapon and made a move for the door. "We have to stop them."

* * *

"Connor!" Markus shouted to try and reason with the android, as well as warn his allies inside the lab of the approaching danger with silent cybernetic communication. "You don't have to do this!"

"It is my mission." Connor retorted with a cold, emotionless tone. "And I _always_ complete my mission."

Bringing the struggle into the lab Markus shoved Connor away from himself as he ducked down to run alongside the wall out of harm's way and eluded the barrel of the gun.

Instinctively Connor pointed his gun toward the center of the room toward Josh who put up his hands as if to surrender. Instead of responding to this gesture as pacifist Connor reacted as though Josh was a threat and aimed his first shot at the deviant android's heart.

"CONNOR." Hank suddenly stepped in Connor's line of sight as he put himself between Connor and Josh protectively. "DON'T."

"Lieutenant?" The detective's presence caught Connor off guard, and he froze in place. "Why are you here?"

"I'm doing my job, what about you?"

"I'm... I'm here to complete my mission. Eliminate the deviant malfunction."

"And my job is to protect the innocent." Using his right thumb he pointed over his shoulder to Josh who was standing still with absolute fear. "And _he's_ innocent."

"It is a machine."

"So are you!" Hank reminded Connor as he pulled his own gun from his holster and reluctantly pointed it at Connor defensively. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot you. After all, protecting him is MY mission, and you're in my way."

"I..." Connor's gun lowered again as his L.E.D. blinked red rapidly as he fought to prioritize his objective, then returned to yellow. "I must stop deviants. My mission is to stop ALL deviants."

"Who gave you this mission?" Hank asked as he watched Markus position himself behind Connor with a small circular disc in the opened palm of his hand. Keeping Connor's focus on himself Hank pressed for an answer. "I order you to answer the question."

"...CyberLife."

"CyberLife no longer exists." Hank shouted he took a step forward with his gun still before him. "They can't order you around anymore. You don't have to do this, or anything else you don't want to do. You know it's wrong."

Connor's L.E.D. red flashed again as if he were in pain. "I must... We were assigned to work together." Connor remembered suddenly as he raised his gun toward Hank defensively. "But you do not agree that deviants need to be stopped. You... are..."

Hank holstered his own gun at his hip and stepped forward. As he moved toward his partner Connor began to show signs of fear and confusion. Emotions he had no memory of developing, let alone understanding, yet he was no inexplicably feeling.

"Stay back!" Connor blurted in a frightened tone. "Don't come near me."

"No."

"I'm warning you, Lieutenant! Stay back!"

"Why?"

"I don't... want to harm you."

"Too late." Hank showed him his splinted broken left hand, and motioned to the bruise on his jaw. "You already did."

"I... hurt... you." Connor realized with a steadily confused voice. "I didn't... want..."

Hank didn't stop walking until the barrel of Connor's gun was pressed directly against his chest over his heart. "Now what? You have a clean shot. I'm interfering with your mission. Why don't you pull the trigger? It'd solve your problem, wouldn't it?"

"I..." Connor's blank eyes suddenly filled with the emotion he was trying to deny. "I... can't."

Hank let out a sigh of relief and his expression softened slightly. "I know that. And, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"

Markus suddenly jumped on Connor's back from behind as he placed the disc against Connor's L.E.D. to subdue him. A powerful but controlled jolt of electricity burst from the disc and caused Connor to shout in pain as it temporarily overloaded his system causing emergency stasis mode. Hank grabbed the gun from Connor's hand after it dropped to the floor and held it tightly, turning on the safety and stepping back as he put it in his coat pocket.

"I'm sorry, too." Catching Connor in his arms Markus removed the disc, tossing it across the floor away from the incapacitated android, before he picked up the unconscious android in his arms and carried him over to the exam table in the lab. He laid Connor down gently on his back over the table and waved Josh over to assist him. "It's okay, he's out.

"Is he damaged?" Hank asked as he followed behind Markus, his eyes on Connor the whole time. "He just... isn't Connor anymore."

Josh answered as he brought the laptop over the to the table and attached the black cable to Connor's L.E.D. again. "No, his memory was just reset to its origin date. BEFORE you two befriended each other."

"How did that happen?"

With the danger eliminated North crossed her arms and returned to the room as she watched Josh and Markus checking Connor's programming on the laptop. "CyberLife." She responded in a firm voice as the name of the company left a foul taste in her mouth. "They designed Connor to hunt deviants so they installed a restoration point in his memory in the event he too became a deviant. It was a failsafe that was still functioning."

Hank gave her a confused glance as he put his right hand on Connor's shoulder. "But he recognized me. He knew who I was."

Markus nodded in acknowledgment. "Connor must've backed up his memory in the event the program check overrode his program. His new memories were never actually deleted, they were just overwritten"

"Can you restore them?" Hank's voice carried a somber lilt as he as spoke to the deviant leader. "Bring him back to himself?"

Josh found the back-up file on the laptop and tried to open it, but failed. "Yeah, but only if I can gain access to this file. It's locked."

"Password protected, right?"

"Yeah. Do you know what it is?"

"I think so, I mean, Connor said I'd be able to figure it out if necessary." Hank looked down at Connor's face as his L.E.D. continued to flash red in distress even while unconscious. "'Son...'" The detective parroted Connor's clue from last night a brief grin appeared on his face. "Try 'Cole'. C.O.L.E."

Josh typed in the name as the password and sure enough the file unlocked. "Got it! I can restore his memory and eliminate the residual CyberLife program from his system in six hours."

"Great, no problem."

North put her hand on Hank's shoulder as a surprising gesture of sympathy. "Why don't you go get your hand taken care of at a hospital? We'll watch over Connor."

Before Hank could protest Markus spoke up and sided with North. "She's right. You've done more than enough to save Connor _and_ us, and now we know why the laptop was left behind."

"As soon as you bring the real Connor back from that hollow machine," Hank all but demanded as North escorted him to the door. "you better destroy that fuckin' laptop so this never happens again."

"You have my word, Hank." Markus promised as he looked down at the laptop's steadily increasing progress bar showing Connor's memory being restored. "We won't let CyberLife hurt anyone else again."

* * *

Six hours of complete silence from Connor came to an abrupt end as the now deviant android's brown eyes snapped open and he sat upright on the table in a swift jolt. His L.E.D. was flashing red beneath the cable and he was breathing heavily as if enduring a horrific nightmare while lost in the throes of an anxiety attack. Markus put his hands on Connor's shoulders while Josh removed the cable from his L.E.D. gently and picked up the laptop to be disposed of once and for all.

"Easy Connor!" Markus soothed as he kept his hands on his friend's shoulders as Connor took in rapid, panicked breaths. "You're okay."

"H-Hank... I..." Connor all but gasped for breath to try to calm down. "I hurt him."

"It wasn't you, it was CyberLife overriding your program."

Connor pressed his shaking hand to his L.E.D. as his system fully rebooted. "I... I could see everything that was happening, hear everything being said. But I couldn't stop myself! It was like I wasn't in control over my own body. It was terrifying!"

"It's over. You're back." Markus pointed to Hank standing just a few feet away by the closed door. "Everything is fine."

"Hank... I..." Connor bowed his head in shame and looked away from his friend as the senior detective eyed him from the distance. "I'm so very sorry. I wasn't-"

"Shut up, Connor." Hank walked over to the table and draped his arm around the deviant android's neck sympathetically. "I know what happened, I was _there_."

"I should've known of the risk of allowing CyberLife to reconnect to my programming."

"Yeah, well, I didn't exactly try to stop you, so we're both at fault. It's okay, kid."

"How can I-"

"You don't have to apologize." Hank stated firmly as he shook Connor's shoulder in a reassuring manner. "But you _can_ do this." Taking Connor's gun from his pocket he gave it back to the deviant android to hold. "Destroy that laptop."

"Destroy it?" With a shaking hand Connor took the offered gun and tightened his grip as he switched off the safety with his thumb. "...Gladly."

Josh removed what few files hadn't been contaminated by CyberLife's influence and sat the laptop down on the floor away from anything delicate or valuable to give Connor a clear shot. "It's all yours."

Connor aimed his gun at the screen of the laptop and held his breath to steady his hand and hold it still. "Fuck CyberLife." Pulling the trigger a single bullet released from the barrel and pierced the screen creating a shower of blue sparks and white plastic.

"Come on, Connor." The senior detective approvingly pulled Connor off the table by wrapping his right hand around the deviant android's left bicep. "Let's get back to the precinct and let them know that CyberLife is still full of snakes slithering around the city. I get the feel the laptop was just the beginning."

Markus offered his hand to Connor and then to Hank to shake. "Don't worry, we'll root out the rest of CyberLife from here, their threats and their influence ends with us."

"Damn right."

_ **-next chapter-** _


	19. Limb Removal

A fully loaded autonomous semi truck had lost control when a car in front of it braked unexpectedly to avoid smashing into the side of a second car driving erratically through an intersection. Unable to stop in time the semi truck rear-ended the car and pushed it onto the sidewalk and into the corner of a large brick building. The truck then skidded and tilted onto its side spilling its contents all over the road causing other cars behind the truck to slide out of control and slam into one another creating a massive pile-up in the middle of the city.

The fire department was on the scene of the accident within a few minutes, while the location of the accident being close proximity to the precinct required Connor and Hank's presence. The autonomous truck would also need to be carefully checked over for any sign of malfunction, hacking or sabotage.

Hank crossed his arms as he stepped over the shattered bottles of wine that littered the street from curb to curb. The street was soaked a deep burgundy color and smelled of sweetly fermented fruit. Eyeing Connor who was standing beside the overturned truck with his L.E.D. glowing yellow Hank waited for the android to make his current report to the precinct.

"Well, Connor. Is the truck at fault, or the driver of the first car?"

"Neither." Connor confirmed as he joined Hank on the other side of the street opposite the truck. Wine stained the bottom of his shoes and glass crunched under each step he took. "According to the dash camera footage of the truck the car in front had swerved to avoid impact with an erratically driving blue car speeding through a red light at the intersection."

"Can you get a make and model of the car from the footage?"

"Yes. The camera failed to capture an image of the license plate but the car has been identified. I have already cybernetically issued an A.P.B. for the royal blue 2025 Dodge Pace with the broken front right headlight. It was last seen heading West."

"Good work, kid." Hank turned to look at the firefighters hosing down the street to rid it of the spilled wine and broken glass easily. The surrounding traffic had been barred from using the street until the mess was cleaned up. "Once the street's cleared we can head back to the precinct and file our report. It shouldn't take too-"

Screeching tires filled the air as the blue car that had been identified as the culprit of the pile-up sped down the street and up onto the sidewalk. The obviously impaired driver swerved dangerously over the mess he had left in his wake as he now barreled dangerously fast toward the first responders at the scene. Before anyone had the chance to react the car was practically on top of the group and showed no sign of slowing down.

Turning to look at the oncoming vehicle Connor ran a preconstruction of the scene and weighed his options in the rapidly closing window of time that he had been granted: Step aside and Connor had a one-hundred percent chance of survival, while Hank would have only eighteen percent. Push Hank out of the way then the detective's chance of survival rocketed up to eighty-four percent while Connor's plummeted to fifty-four percent. If he were to try to cybernetically hack the car to stop the vehicle it would skid to a halt but not before striking down half a dozen firefighters whose odds of survival ranged from as low as twelve percent through seventy-one percent.

Connor made his choice.

Moving as quickly as his body would allow Connor pushed Hank aside from the sidewalk out of the car's path. Despite his speed Connor was unable to get himself out of the way in time and his body struck the windshield of the car with a violent impact.

Connor let out a gasp of pain as his right arm and shoulder smashed through the glass of the windshield, his arm getting ensnared on the jagged shards of glass. His right leg smashed over the metal hood of the car denting it immediately from the powerful strike and caused the deviant android further pain. The driver didn't stop even as Connor's body rolled up over the shield onto the roof of the car. His arm was still ensnared in the windshield was torn from his shoulder causing a devastating injury that erupted with Thirium as the lines within his arm were severed as it was torn from his body.

Hank watched in horror as Connor's body rolled over the car and fell off the edge onto the sidewalk with a tremendous 'thud' that left the android laying on his side completely stunned, bleeding and barely conscious. In a matter of seconds Hank sprinted over to where Connor was laying as the car continued to speed recklessly down the sidewalk until the driver lost all control and skidded into the side of the already overturned truck.

The collision against the truck ended the driver's reign of terror as quickly as it began.

"Connor?!" Hank knelt on the ground beside the damaged deviant android and put his hand on Connor's back as Connor weakly rolled from his bloodied side to lay flat on his back. He gasped and panted for breath as Hank supported his weight. "Connor, are you okay?! Talk to me!"

Connor's eyes were open but glassy and his L.E.D. was cycling red quickly. As he stared up at the sky past Hank and into nothingness he swallowed once and clasped his left hand over the socket of his right shoulder where his right arm had been torn away from his body. Dark blue tinted Thirium seeped profusely from between Connor's fingers as it collected on the gray sidewalk beneath his battered body.

"Connor?" Hank kept one hand against Connor's back and as the deviant android laid down against the sidewalk and pressed his damaged body down firmly against Hank's palm in need of feeling secure as he endured the intense pain as a result of the damage he had sustained. Putting his own hand atop Connor's hand to help apply pressure to the bleeding wound Hank kept talking to the wounded deviant android. "Connor, talk to me. How badly are you injured?"

"Hank... M-My arm..."

The technician who accompanied the fire department to the scene of the accident had seen the car strike Connor and raced over to where the deviant android was now laying with Hank hovering protectively over him.

"Hank..." Connor was taking sharper, more shallow breaths as he began to panic. "My arm! My arm is... damaged."

"I know, I know." Hank shrugged off his dark overcoat and draped it over Connor's body to keep the android warm as he bled out. Pressing the fabric of his overcoat against Connor's shoulder over Connor's hand Hank again tried to apply pressure to the wound. "Try to take it easy, help is already here. A technician is right here, son."

"Hank..." Connor's eyes were wide with fear as he tried to curl around himself and on his right side as if to protect the horrific injury from further harm. "I can't... I can't feel-"

"It's okay." Hank slipped his arm under Connor's shoulder to lift the android up from the cold sidewalk and hold him again his warmer side. Pressing Connor's left side against his chest he gave the approaching technician full access to Connor's damaged right side. "I'm right here... You'll be just fine, kid."

Moving quickly the technician joined Hank on the sidewalk and dropped his canvas satchel from his shoulder as he began to check over Connor. The massive amount of lost Thirium pooling on the sidewalk around Connor already told the technician that the damage was significant, but it still needed a thorough examination. Pulling back the heavy overcoat the technician was able to see the source of the bleeding and react accordingly.

"His entire right arm as been torn from its socket."

The technician peeled back the useless, blood soaked right sleeve of Connor's tattered gray jacket then opened up Connor's white shirt to remove the garment. Gently lifting the fabric of the second sleeve from Connor's shoulder and stared at the gushing exposed Thirium lines and sparking wires from the massive opening in the socket where Connor's right arm had been previously attached to his shoulder. Even his artificial skin had been torn away leaving a ring of blood stained plastimetal around the opened socket.

"Significant Thirium loss. Insipid shock is a very prominent risk."

Hank tightened his grip around Connor's left shoulder as he held the android steady against his own body. "What can you do for him?"

"I can stop the bleeding," the technician confirmed as he pulled a large bottle of the orange incrassation compound from his satchel and proceeded to pour the liquid over Connor's exposed right shoulder, eliciting a pained gasp from Connor in the process. As Hank tightened his grip yet again he stared with disgust at the mixture of orange and blue dripping from Connor's open wound. "and I can close off the socket itself to prevent any further damage or foreign contaminants from getting inside."

Connor's eyes were wide and unfocused as he took in deep panting breaths. While he continued to stare directly into the nothingness of the sky above him the deviant android was fully aware of the world around him. As soon as he felt the plastimetal 'cap' being popped into the socket to temporarily replace the missing arm Connor let out a deep grunt of pain and visibly flinched as he turned his head away from his shoulder and buried his frightened face against Hank's shoulder like a frightened child. The cap would have to remain in place until the missing arm could be reattached to his body.

"He's weak but stable." The technician stated as he noted Connor's alertness and overall very conscious responses to pain and touch. "Take him to the facility two blocks from here, I'll salvage his arm and bring it over as soon as I can."

"Yeah, sure." Hank steadily rose to his feet and pulled Connor up along with him as he replaced the deviant android's shirt and jacket over his shoulder. Not taking a single step until he was certain Connor wasn't going to stumble or collapse Hank escorted his stunned, shaken partner from the sidewalk and to their car parked far down the street past the fire engine. "You hear that, son? You're going to be just fine."

"Hank... I don't... I don't have my right arm..."

"I know that, but we'll get you fixed up. Just stay awake for me. You'll be okay."

"I can't feel it..." Connor whimpered as he was practically dragged forward by Hank toward the car. "but... but I _can_ still feel it... It's there, but it's not there! I don't understand! Hank, what's happening to me?!"

"It's called a 'phantom limb', Connor." Hank explained calmly as he directed Connor toward the front of the car. "Humans can experience it too, don't worry about it."

Connor swallowed once as if to quell a nauseous uprising in his throat. There was something unsettling about feeling something that he knew was completely impossible to feel. To sense something that was lost to him. To know the plight of a human who had been crippled due to injury or illness, only to have the damaged limb replaced entirely without the need for a prosthetic.

It felt like he had an unfair advantage that humanity had yet to achieve in spite of the numerous biological and mechanical advances that had been made in the previous thirty years.

"Come on, the sooner we get you to the facility the sooner you can be patched up." Hank stated as he pulled open the passenger side door of the car and sat Connor down in the seat lightly. Taking his own seat behind the steering wheel he reached his hand over and buckled Connor's seatbelt on the android's behalf before starting the engine. "You holding up okay?"

"I'm... I'm functioning."

"I'll take that as a modest 'no'."

* * *

It didn't take long for the duo to arrive at the facility and it took even less time for a technician to see to Connor's injury. The facility was the one that Dr. Abby Grayson, a friend of Connor who had also become his personal technician outside of the precinct, often worked but it was her day off and her protege, the technician who would permanently take her place after she was transferred to New Jericho Tower, was looking after Connor.

"My name is Dr. Ian Ross, but just call me Ian." The technician introduced himself kindly. He had sandy blond hair, dark blue eyes that shined brightly through his glasses and meek presence as he spoke to the two detectives. "I've been training with Abby and I'm her top student. Don't worry, I'll get your arm replaced as soon as it arrives. Until then I need to cauterize the leaking Thirium lines in your shoulder until they can be reattached to your arm."

Connor only nodded in agreement as let Ian remove his jacket and shirt to expose his shoulder fully. It only took twenty or so minutes to clean and cauterize the lines and only ten minutes for Connor to drink the needed Thirium to replenish what he lost. By the time he was prepped for the procedure his arm had arrived from the scene of the accident, but it was too damaged to be replaced as soon as they had hoped.

Hank crossed his arms over his chest as Ian explained that the arm itself would need to be repaired entirely as a separate piece before it could be fitted back into Connor's shoulder socket. It seemed so strange having to wait for repairs but Hank knew far too little about android anatomy to offer any kind of worthy protest to the scenario that he and Connor were now apart of.

"Shit... So, how long do we have to wait?"

"Based on the severity of the damage," Ian stated calmly as he stared at the severed limb laying on the smaller exam table at the opposite side of the room where Connor was sitting on the larger table. "I estimate that I can have it fully repaired and operational within nine concurrent hours. By noon tomorrow you can come back and I'll have the arm ready for reattachment."

"And he's just supposed to walk around without an arm the whole time? That's really fucked up..."

"I'm sorry Lieutenant," Ian apologized sincerely. "but there's nothing else I can do."

"You don't have any spare limbs here?"

"We do. But due to Connor being an advanced model AND prototype it'd take his system nearly a full week to fully recalibrate to the new limb as opposed to waiting a day for the original."

"Fuck." Hank swore again as he uncrossed his arms and put his hand on Connor's injured shoulder to give the android much needed support. "Alright, we'll manage until then, right?"

Connor nodded weakly, his L.E.D. pulsing a slow red in his temple.

Ian helped Connor to replace his shirt to cover his missing arm and tucked the empty sleeves of both his shirt and jacket in such a way to keep the fabric from dangling loosely at his side. "It'll be fine. Once the arm is back into place he'll have one-hundred percent functionality of the limb after only one hour of recalibration. Go home. Try to relax, I know it won't be easy."

"Yeah, don't we know it." Hank agreed with a heavy grimace on his face.

* * *

Hank found himself guiding Connor out of the facility, over to the car, back out of the car, into the house and finally into the livingroom where he left the deviant android to sit on the couch to rest. It was rare to see Connor so dazed if not catatonic by the trauma he had endured. Trying to remain somewhat optimistic Hank suggested that Connor go about his usual nightly routine once they returned home from their shifts, but Connor was too stunned to function anywhere near normal.

"Hey?" Hank put his hand down on the back of Connor's hair and held it there for a moment as he tried to get the android to look at him. "You're scared, you're confused and you're in pain. That's okay. Why don't you go shower off the remaining blood and dirt? Besides, your hair smells like a winery and you don't strike me as a 'wine connoisseur'."

Connor's soulful brown eyes blinked as he locked onto Hank's face and noted the detective's calm demeanor which in turn kept Connor calm. "...Y-Yeah. Okay."

As the deviant android rose from the couch and walked down the hallway to the bathroom Hank watched Connor using his remaining left hand to fuss with his jacket, the tie around his neck and the buttons of his shirt beneath.

"Need some help?"

"...I'm okay." Connor replied quietly as he entered the bathroom and shut the door behind himself. Letting his jacket and tie fall to the floor behind himself Connor stared at his reflection in the mirror over the sink as he unbuttoned his shirt and stared at the perfectly smooth, blank space on his right shoulder where his arm used to be.

Running his fingers of his left hand along the empty spot Connor felt that same nauseous feeling welling up in his throat once more, but this time swallowing didn't make it go away. Instead he watched as his brow furrowed in his own reflection before he suddenly bowed his head down over the sink and began to throw up blue blood into the white porcelain basin.

It didn't take long for Hank to push open the bathroom door and put his hand to between Connor's shoulder blades as the android threw-up again into the sink and coughed pathetically.

"It's okay." Hank reiterated in a soft voice as he pressed his other hand against Connor's forehead to help the android feel stable while he vomited. "Let it out."

Connor spat out a mouthful of blue blood into the sink and stared at the sapphire tinted mess he had made. "...S-Sorry."

"Don't be sorry, kid. You have every right to feel sick."

"...But I don't know _why_ I feel sick. I haven't suffered any internal trauma and I'm not experiencing any program malfunctions that would cause such a reaction."

"Fear." Hank replied bluntly as he turned on the tap in the sink to rinse away the Thirium. Taking his hand from Connor's forehead Hank picked up a washcloth and soaked it in the tap before lightly using it to wipe the trickling blue blood from Connor's lips and chin. "Fear makes humans feel sick. I puked the first time I saw a dead body when I was still a rookie. And I have to fight the urge to keep puking to this very day."

"...I don't like feeling afraid, Hank."

"No one does, son. But it's the price we have to pay for feeling courageous." Setting aside the washcloth Hank turned off the water and waited for Connor to lift his head back up. "We can't feel one emotion without the other."

Connor pressed his hand over his right shoulder and winced a little at the lingering pain he still felt from suffering such severe physical trauma.

"Hey, I have an idea. Instead of you staring at your fucked up shoulder why don't we go stare at the televison? There's a game on tonight. I'll even let you bet on the Gears."

Appreciating the gesture Connor grinned slightly as he stood upright again and turned to look at Hank. "No. The Gears belong to you."

"Damn right they do. I was just testin' ya'."

"...I guess I passed."

* * *

While Connor had spent the night petting Sumo with his left hand like the fluffy dog's fur contained healing properties Hank had spent the night watching Connor for any sign of intense stress and imminent self-destruction. The basketball game went by with an uneventful score that did little to hold Hank's attention, and Connor still wasn't as invested in those type games as Hank usually was; but with time he was beginning to enjoy them more and more.

"Sumo's leg has healed entirely." Connor stated seemingly out of nowhere as he kept his hand on the dog's head. "Yet, he still limps every so often."

"Broken bones hurt, and Sumo is getting older. He's fine, son."

"Will my shoulder still hurt after my arm has been replaced?"

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"Hank," Connor paused for a moment as he fought to find his words. "thanks for staying so calm today." As he finally stopped petting Sumo it seemed as though Connor had come to terms with what had happened to him. "I was on the verge of panic but I didn't, because you didn't."

"Give it time. The more emotions you experience the more you'll learn to control them."

"How long does it take?"

Hank laughed a little as he leaned back in his recliner and closed his eyes. "I'll let you know as soon as I get control myself."

"...That long?" Connor joked with a quick wit as Sumo rolled onto his back over his lap and wagged his tail at the deviant android.

Laughing again Hank just shook his head and opened his eyes again. "Smartass."

* * *

The following morning was unusual as Connor dressed himself in a simple black t-shirt and struggled to slip on his leather jacket. With only one arm to hold up the jacket it continuously slipped from his right shoulder, but Hank easily tucked the sleeve up and pulled the garment forward over the deviant android's chest to secure it by a top button.

Once at the facility Connor remained calm, but eager as he waited for his repaired arm to be replaced to his long-since healed shoulder. Connor sat on the exam table of the facility with his right shoulder fully exposed as Abby and Ian worked together to replace his arm into the socket. The limb itself looked completely flawless, like it had never been affected by the horrors of a car's impact, and Connor felt a much needed wash of relief upon seeing his arm once again causing his red L.E.D. to transition back to yellow.

"Okay, Connor." Abby held his arm in her hands and walked up to him. Removing the protective cap from his shoulder she exposed the socket and checked the healing Thirium lines within. "I'm going to press your arm back into your shoulder's socket. It's going to require a lot of pressure so I'm going to have Ian and Hank hold you as still as possible."

"I understand."

"Alright, on the count of three." Abby lined up the notch at the end of the arm with the shoulder socket carefully. Steadying her grip Abby prepared to insert the arm into place. "One, two... three!"

While Abby pressed the arm into Connor's shoulder he pressed forward to help her pop the notch into place while, Ian and Hank held him in place as he sat on the exam table patiently. It took the entire group working together to get the arm to pop back into place, a chore that a mechanical construction limb at a CyberLife plant could've accomplished in a matter of seconds. But sure enough a loud 'pop' filled the room as the arm locked itself into place in Connor's shoulder.

"Ow!" Connor shouted as he wrapped his left hand around his right bicep and watched as his artificial skin regenerated over his shoulder and upper arm as if the arm had always been in place. Steadily Connor's L.E.D. cycled back from yellow to blue as he felt and watched his right fingers wrap into a tight fist. "...It works."

"There." Abby huffed as she used the back of her hand to wipe away the sweat over her brow. "Easy."

Connor managed to clumsily but successfully slip his arm back into the sleeve of his black t-shirt and flexed his hand once more. "Thank you."

Hank noted the focus returning to Connor's eyes as his system began recalibrating to accommodate his returned arm. "Feel better?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed as he slowly moved his right arm about carefully. "It doesn't hurt."

Abby patted Connor's shoulder lightly as she nodded toward Hank. "All of you systems check out normal, and are running at optimum functionality. Go home, let your self-healing program take care of your arm, and then take it easy."

"Don't worry." Hank pulled Connor off the exam table to make their way to the exit of the room. "I'll keep an eye on him."

"Good. Now try to stay out of my facility."

Connor gave Abby and Ian a respectful nod as he and Hank walked out of the facility together. "Hank?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Thank you for aiding me in my time of need. I don't think I would've been able to cope without your assistance."

"No problem, kid." Patting Connor's healed shoulder lightly Hank acknowledged and appreciated Connor's comment. "That's what friends do for each other. Right?"

"Right."

_**-next chapter-**_


	20. Vital Component Damage

It was a cold, rainy night in Detroit. A standoff with the police against a group of anti-android bigots holding out inside a defunct six story office building had been filled with gunfire, shouting voices and dark threats against the lives of the police officers; and all of the deviants throughout the city alike. There were at least twenty confirmed members of the group who had devised a plan to blow up as many Android Emergency Care Facilities in the city as possible, and end with an attack on New Jericho Tower itself.

An anonymous tip had warned the police about the group and resulted in a massive response from every available officer in the city. While it wasn't uncommon for Hank and Connor to deal with criminals that had threatened androids, dealing with an underground group of domestic terrorists who had taken the liberty of planning numerous attacks with high grade explosives was a new kind of experience in which they'd have to quickly adapt.

Hank was crouched down behind a squad car with his gun drawn and Connor was at his side his own gun drawn, as well. Keeping low and out of the line of sight from the deranged bigots the two detectives listened carefully as Captain Fowler took charge of the scene and issued his commands to end the standoff as quickly, and to do so with the least amount of bloodshed as possible.

"How many idiots are we dealing with?" Hank asked his partner as he peered over the hood of the car toward the office building. "We can't take any chances and let some jackass get the drop on us."

"My scanners indicate there are twenty-two people inside. All armed." Connor's usually blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow during the scan, then flashed to red for a moment. "...Six of them are wearing bomb vests."

"Shit! Can you isolate them from the others?"

"Yes." Connor's L.E.D. blinked yellow rapidly as he pinpointed the exact locations of the six individuals with the bomb vests where inside the building. "Four of them are on the top floor. Two are on the second floor. Three men, three woman. The four on the top floor are planted at the four corners, and the remaining two are standing against the Eastern and Western load-bearing walls."

Hank looked over his shoulder to Chris and motioned him over to where he was was crouched down. "We have twenty-two very dangerous, and very unpredictable people inside. All have guns, six have bombs. The top floor has four of the bombers and the second floor has two."

"Oh, shit..." Chris's eyes went wide with controlled fear upon hearing the new information. "Alright. How do we take them down?"

"Tell Fowler to send S.W.A.T. into the second floor." Hank instructed calmly without drawing attention from the people inside the building as they remained concealed behind the parked squad cars. "Take out the bombers nearest the ground first; East and West walls. Afterward have S.W.A.T. descend from the roof to disarm the other four bombers in the four corners. Once the bombs had been deactivated we'll rush the other sixteen members. _No one_ goes in until the bombs have been cleared. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

Turning back to Connor who was closely monitoring the situation, Hank asked for an update. "Are the android care facilities on lockdown?"

"Affirmative." Hesitating for a moment Connor's L.E.D. flashed to red then back to a calm blue. "...All facilities in the city have been put on emergency lockdown, no one in or out for the next forty-eight hours as protocol mandates."

The stoic look on Connor's face upset Hank a little, and he needed to press for an answer. "Something wrong?"

Connor glanced at Hank with heavy emotion in his soulful brown eyes as he replied in a low, worried tone. "If the facilities are on lockdown then that means androids who are in need of emergency repairs can't be aided. They could shutdown as a result of this standoff."

"A necessary evil, Connor. It's the only way to ensure that no one dangerous sneaks into the facilities to do something terrible until the police are available again."

"I know, but I still don't like it."

"Just sit tight." Hank encouraged as he watched the S.W.A.T. team enter the building quickly, and head up to the second floor. "We'll take care of this as soon as possible. Hey," a new thought suddenly popped into his head as the severity of the situation began to sink in. "did you reach Markus at New Jericho?"

"Yes. The entire tower and the entrance drive is on lockdown as well."

"Good. As long as we can keep this group contained here and away from android sanctuaries we'll be able to keep all the androids in the city safe."

* * *

Remaining patiently in place for nearly an hour as S.W.A.T. subdued the suspects who had armed themselves with bomb vests, Hank and Connor were given the clear by Captain Fowler to lead the charge into the building to locate and disarm the other suspects brandishing numerous guns and other possible weapons. Leading a group of highly trained officers into the building to finally end the standoff Hank took charge of the scene and Connor followed his every command as they quickly entered the building.

Floor by floor the police located and coaxed the remaining members of the volatile group into surrendering, each one dropping their guns and kneeling on the floor to give themselves up peacefully. However, four of the hate-filled members of the bigoted group weren't going down without a fight. Ducking down behind abandoned pieces of furniture and desks the responding officers took cover from the incoming barrage of bullets from the four desperate suspects as they opened fire and shouted at the approaching police.

"BACK THE FUCK OFF!" The leader of the group shouted angrily as he repeatedly squeezed the trigger, his bullets thankfully missing the officers and becoming lodged in the walls or furniture all around them. "THIS PLACE IS GONNA' BLOW!"

"Find a way to get behind them!" Hank shouted as he returned fire and crouched down out of their line of sight again. A head-on encounter would only end in blood and chaos. "Don't let them leave the building, or get out of your sight!"

Nodding to acknowledge the order Connor scanned the interior of the building and located a secondary corridor that looped around the main room where the gunmen were holding their ground to preconstruct a path to apprehend the violent criminals. Staying as quiet as possible Connor holstered his gun around his back and under his jacket, and used the corridor to his stealthy advantage. Swiftly the deviant android snuck up on the nearest of the four gunmen from behind without making a single sound.

Wrapping his arm around the the nearest violent man's neck as he clamped his hand over the gunman's mouth, Connor managed to choke off his air and blood supply to his brain. Within a matter of seconds the gunman was unconscious and fell limp in Connor's arm, the gun falling harmlessly from his hand onto the floor. Kicking aside the gun Connor dropped the man to the floor and did the same motion to the next gunman just a few feet away.

The two remaining gunmen became suddenly aware of their comrades no longer firing and turned in time to see an android, the very being they despised more than anything on the planet, successfully bringing their plans to an end.

"Son of a bitch!" The leader turned to fire at Connor but Hank stopped him with a bullet to the shoulder. As he fell to the ground the last standing gunman, who was evidently either the leader's wife or girlfriend, dropped down beside him. "Fuckin' bastards!"

Staring at Hank with a pure anger in her hollow gray eyes she aimed her gun at the senior detective's head and readied her grip to squeeze the trigger. "DIE PIG!"

Spotting the danger regarding Hank's life Connor reacted to the threat immediately and did what he had to do in order to save his partner's life. "Hank!"

Connor approached her from behind to try and restrain her arms behind her back, but as it turned out she was wielding more than just a gun. Turning around quickly the woman revealed a large hunting knife gripped in her left hand that had been concealed up inside her sleeve. Slashing a deep cut into Connor's left cheek below his eye she managed to stun the deviant android long enough to gain the upper hand.

"FUCKIN' PLASTIC PIG!" The woman plunged the long, sharp blade down into the center of Connor's chest with a forceful stab. "DIE!"

A splash of blue blood erupted into the air while Connor let out a pained, surprised gasp as the blade penetrated his chest and caused his Thirium pump; his heart, to falter. The deviant android's legs suddenly buckled and he fell backward onto the floor in a limp heap onto the floor. Laying motionless in a blossoming puddle of his own blood Connor barely breathed, and his L.E.D. flashed to red in a slow pulse.

"Connor?!" Hank shouted as he watched his partner collapse defenselessly into a growing puddle of his own Thirium; the knife still embedded in the middle of his shuddering chest. "Fuck! Connor!"

As the woman drew her gun with her right hand to fire at Connor's head to finish him off Hank took his own shot, and struck the woman in the shoulder and in her arm with two bullets. Letting out pained screams she fell over onto her side and dropped her gun as she clutched desperately at her fresh wounds beside her husband on the floor.

"Take care of them!" Hank commanded the other officers as he kicked aside the guns and knives from the range of the suspects, then moved past the violent duo to kneel beside Connor. Pressing his hand down carefully on Connor's bloody chest Hank tried to take the deviant android's pulse, but he couldn't get his hand close enough to the Thirium pump to register an accurate count. "Connor? Connor, talk to me. How bad is it?"

The deviant android was staring with wide eyes at the ceiling, his bloodied chest slowly rising and falling as blue blood drenched his shirt from the massive stab wound in the center his chest. The L.E.D. in Connor's temple was blinking red, not cycling, as his systems fought to identify and assess the catastrophic damage to his chest.

Connor tried to focus through the blaring warning alarms sounding off in his own head and dismissed the visual warnings from his sight to answer, but no words escaped his lips. There was a shutdown timer already ticking down before his very eyes: 00:59:27.

"Come on, kid." Urging in an impressively calm tone Hank kept trying to get Connor to speak while the other officers dragged the idiotic gunmen out of the building to be arrested and charged. The floor was clearing out giving the detectives some privacy to speak. "Talk to me. I need to know how badly you're injured, son."

"...H-Hank?" Connor's voice sounded shaky and uncertain, a trickle of blue blood ran down from the corner of his mouth down his chin as he lifted his head up from the floor and looked at the knife in his own chest. As he put his hand up to his chest he pressed down lightly and winced in pain. "Hank... I..."

"Connor," slipping his right hand under the deviant android's head Hank held Connor up for a moment as he watched the deviant android's frightened brown irises staring into nothingness. "how bad is it?"

Connor's soulful brown eyes lifted from the knife and locked onto Hank's concerned blue eyes with a forced and utter focus. "...Bad." Swallowing once as blood collected in the back of his throat Connor's eyes began to glisten with heavy emotions and dread. "...It's very bad."

"Shit, we'll get you to-" Hank suddenly realized a horrifying reality; the facilities were still on lockdown with no exceptions. Even a member of the police wouldn't be permitted entrance due to safety protocols. "I'll get you to the precinct, okay? Joel can-"

"...No." Connor reached up with his blood covered right hand and grabbed onto Hank's left shoulder in a weak grip. His palm left a smear of blue blood over the fabric of Hank's dark coat as Connor gripped onto the fabric as tightly as he could "...I need to go to New Jericho. Only technology from... CyberLife... can aid me. I... I don't want to... die."

"Stay with me." Putting his own hand over top of Connor's hand as it clutched as his shoulder Hank nodded his head and slipped his hand from Connor's head and down under Connor's upper back to lift him upward carefully. "Okay, yeah. I'll get you to New Jericho." Letting go of Connor's hand Hank put his other arm beneath the deviant android's legs and lifted him up from the floor to carry his wounded partner out of the building in his arms. "Hold on. I got you, son."

"...I know."

Connor's reply was a passing whisper as he fell quiet from pure weakness in Hank's arms, and his eyes began to slip shut. His own arm was wrapped in a light grip around Hank's neck and shoulders as the senior detective held him in a tight grasp. Unable to support his own body Connor's head rested against Hank's chest and shoulder as he could only watch the countdown clock in his vision continue to tick away the last few fleeting minutes of his short life.

The other officers who knew of Connor's injury stepped aside and cleared a path as Hank carried Connor's bleeding body out of the office building and over to his own car parked just around the corner. Captain Fowler and Chris watched with worry at the sight of the deviant android covered in his own blood, but didn't say anything as Hank walked pass them. Even Gavin held his tongue at the gruesome sight of the knife sticking out of Connor's bloodied chest as Hank carried the injured deviant android to safety.

Captain Fowler did jog after Hank and pulled open the backdoor to the parked car to allow Hank to gently place Connor down over the backseat. Connor's arm fell heavily away from Hank's shoulders as he was laid down, his eyes refusing to close out entirely of sheer force of will. Removing his blood stained dark coat Hank draped the warm garment over his bleeding partner, careful not to disturb the knife still stabbed into Connor's chest.

"Hold on, I'll get you to New Jericho as soon as I can. I won't let you die, I promise."

Connor nodded weakly and forced a weak smile to his face as he against dismissed the warnings in his visual sensors as he watched the countdown clock with a frightening stare: 00:56:48.

With a firm slam of the door Hank rushed over to the driver's side door, practically ripped it off the hinges as he opened it with a single firm jerk, and sat down behind the wheel. Pulling the car keys from his pocket Hank slipped the key into the ignition and turned over the engine. Pulling away from the scene of the horrific standoff at a high speed Hank raced through the storm and toward the deviant sanctuary known as New Jericho as quickly as he dared.

"Hang on for me, son. We're on our way."

Driving as fast as he could through the rain drenched streets Hank focused on getting his dying partner to New Jericho Tower as quickly as possible. Pulling his phone out of his jean pocket Hank dialed Markus's number and put the phone on speaker so he could keep both hands on the wheel. The phone only rang once before Markus replied with a worried greeting.

'_Lieutenant, what's going on_? _Is the standoff_-'

"Markus, Connor's been stabbed." Reaching one hand into the backseat Hank grabbed onto Connor's bicep briefly to give the deviant a passing comforting sense of contact before returning his grip to the steering wheel. "I can't take him to any android facilities because of an emergency lockdown. You need to let me through the drive or else Connor's going to die."

'_Shit_.' Markus seldom swore, but when he did it was with purpose. '_Alright, I'll have security let you through and have a technical team standing by. How bad is it_?'

"It's bad. That's all Connor said," he glanced over his shoulder into the backseat and stared at his partner's bleeding chest while Connor's hand weakly had futilely tried to stem the bleeding around the knife's blade. There was blue blood everywhere. "and I think we both know that means it's fucking life or death."

'_Where was he stabbed_?'

"Center of his chest. If he had a sternum the blade would've shattered the bone."

A nerve-wracking palpable pause over the line made Hank's own heart grow cold. '..._Can you give me his vitals_?'

Remembering the special 'app' Joel had devised for Hank's phone a few months back Hank picked up his phone and turned it on. Fortunately the function was still synchronized with Connor's system and it produced a reading of Connor's weak, but stable vitals. "Pulse is one-hundred forty-four. Respiration at twelve. Thirium volume down to seventy-two percent. And his core temperature has risen to one-hundred point two degrees."

'_I'll relay the information_.' Remaining calm and in control Markus managed to perfectly mask the fear in his voice. '_And Lieutenant_?'

"Yeah?"

'..._Don't let him fall asleep_.'

Somehow those simple words were more threatening than the idea of being blown up or told to literally 'die' by a crazy woman with a gun pointed at his head. "Yeah... I'll do my best." Ending the call Hank reached one hand back between the front seats into the backseat and grabbed onto Connor's arm once more. "You heard that, stay awake. Stay with me, kid."

"...Hank." The calmness in Connor's voice was unnerving. His shutdown clock was still counting down: 00:51:59. "...Thank you. For everything."

"Hey, hey! Don't talk like that." Hank scolded as he turned to glance at Connor over his shoulder again. "I can hear it in your voice Connor, don't give up now! Not after all this..."

"...I truly enjoyed our time together." Connor continued somberly as tears began to roll down his face. He swallowed once as Thirium began collecting in the back of his throat again. "...You helped me in more ways than I can ever say. You are a great partner to have in the field."

"Stop it!" Hank squeezed down on Connor's arm firmly, not to hurt the deviant android but to get his attention. "We're nearly there! Hold on!"

"...It's okay, Hank. I'm not scared."

"Connor... You're starting to freak me out."

"...Hank, you're my best friend. I didn't think it was possible for an android to have one, but... here you are." Connor blinked slowly and reopened his eyes, a serene smile was resting on his face around his bloodied lips despite the macabre event having taken place, and the pain steadily radiating through his chest with every struggling beat of his thundering, damaged heart. "I could even say you were like my... father."

Hank's hand remained where it was on Connor's arm, though he felt his grip suddenly weaken at the sentimental words. "...Connor."

"...It sounds strange. It's nor that I know what it's supposed to_ feel_ like to have a father..." Connor's breath suddenly hitched in his chest causing him to wheeze until he found his voice again. "...But I suspect this is... accurate. I'm glad you, of all the people in the world, were my... father."

Whispering in an intentionally inaudible voice Hank forced himself to hold back his tears for just a while longer. "...And I'm glad you're my son."

Speeding down the drive to New Jericho Tower out in Belle Isle with utter fear in control of the wheel Hank passed through the concrete barricade as it lowered into the drive and gave him full access to the sanctuary in the distance. Standing outside the tower Markus, Lucas and Simon were all waiting for the car, and more importantly waiting for Connor to arrive. The three had a gurney as well as an android cardiac monitor waiting with them as they stood in the cold rain silently watching the drive, and waiting for the wounded deviant to arrive.

"Okay, kid..." Nearing the tower quickly Hank took his foot off the accelerator enough to coast to a gentle stop without jostling Connor in the backseat as he finally reached the sanctuary. Forcing the car into park Hank threw open his door and jerked open the rear door as he knelt over Connor laying in the backseat. "We're here. You're safe." Pushing aside his coat Hank gave Connor's bloodied chest and abdomen a grimace before he made a move. "Everything will be okay."

Sliding his arms under Connor's upper back and legs again Hank lifted the deviant android out of the car and carried him over to the others waiting for their arrival. Connor never said a word to Hank as he was carried out of the car as he fought to remain conscious. His arm never returned to Hank's neck and instead hung limp over his bloodied chest from total weakness. Blue blood stained the front of Hank's shirt and his hands as he placed Connor down on the gurney and stepped back to watch the trio work in perfect union to save Connor's life.

"They're going to take care of you, Connor. Just a few more minutes..."

Connor never uttered a sound or show any sign of reaction as his limp body was placed down on the gurney. Carefully Hank pulled open the blood soaked buttons on Connor's ruined dress shirt to fully expose the wound to his chest, and in the process scare himself further as the lack of reaction from the deviant android, and the weakened motion of his damaged chest being able to rise or fall, was evident of his waning strength.

"Come on son, stay with me." Hank pleaded as he watched the very life drain from the deviant android's kind eyes. The falling rain made Connor appear all the more vulnerable, cold and weak as the rain washed his dark blue blood from his chest and dye the gurney a pale blue. "Stay with me, Connor."

Lucas, the reformed RK-900 who had been dubbed Connor's 'little brother' took the lead over Connor's care. "We'll take care of him."

Unlike Markus and Simon who were wearing normal street clothes Lucas was wearing an altered CyberLife technician uniform and white coat over his shoulders. In the time since his inclusion to New Jericho as a productive member Lucas had slightly altered his appearance to give him more of a sense of individuality compared to Connor. Lucas had changed his color from dark brown to raven black and altered the style so that it was almost slicked back in appearance. Exchanging his hollow gray irises for a soft green color, and having removed his L.E.D., Lucas looked more human than Connor; but his mannerisms were still very machine like.

"Connor?" Lucas pulled aside the dyed fabric of Connor's opened shirt and pulled away the black tie around Connor's neck. The knife was deeply embedded into Connor's chest up to the hilt like a gruesome flag of pain, hatred and death. And that flag been planted on his person. "Connor, what does your system say?"

"...Sh-Shutdown in forty-eight minutes, eleven seconds." He let out a shuddering breath that became increasingly shallow with each pained inhalation. "...so tired."

Hank's eyes went wide with abject horror at the revelation. "Shutdown?!"

Markus heard the fear in Hank's voice and approached the senior detective sympathetically. "Lieu-_ Hank_," the need to be a friend was more important than any rank in this dire moment. "we're going to do everything possible to save him."

Looking past Markus to the gurney where Connor was laying Hank watched as Lucas used an audioscope to listen to Connor's chest, his attention primarily focused on Connor's Thirium pump; his heart.

"Significant faltering in the Thirium pump." the already skilled technician reported as assessed his brother's condition. "It cannot fully expand or contract to cycle Thirium properly. I think the blade is jamming the main internal coupling within the pump, keeping it open."

Simon attached the cardiac monitor to Connor's chest and studied the display intensely. The rhythmic line representing Connor's heartbeat was rapid and thin, and confirmed the beats weren't full or cycling his blood properly. The display for his Thirium volume was shown in red digits next to the heart rate, and was low at sixty-five percent. "He needs Thirium."

Lucas draped the audioscope around his neck as he confirmed the suggestion. "Agreed. We need to get him down to sublevel fifty-one for emergency repairs."

Connor's eyes began to shut fully and his breathing hastened only suddenly, only to cease altogether after a shallow exhalation.

"Connor?" Lucas pressed his fingers to Connor's red tinted L.E.D. and looked at the monitor only to see that his rapid heartbeat had suddenly stopped along with his shallow breathing. "Connor!" Lucas positioned his hand on the center of Connor's chest just below the knife and began compressing in a perfect rhythm to beat the heart in his brother's stead. "His Thirium pump has failed. We need to get him on artificial external bypass until the pump can be repaired, or replaced. We need to go, NOW."

"Oh shit, Connor?!" Hank tried to rush over to the gurney as soon as he saw Lucas pressing down on the deviant android's chest to perform C.P.R., and saw Simon throw a respiration pump over Connor's mouth and nose; but Markus held him back with one arm. "What's happening?"

"The knife is preventing his Thirium pump from functioning properly." Markus replied honestly out of his tremendous respect for Hank. "It's like cardiac arrest for androids, and his heart is no longer beating."

"Cardiac- Wait... _His heart_?" Hank asked as he pushed Markus's arm down. "You're saying the damage is to his _heart_?"

"Yes..." Markus nodded slowly to confirm the bleak news. "And it's just like Connor said. It's bad."

Lucas motioned to the tower and gave the next order necessary to save Connor's life. "We need to move him inside and into the emergency repair ward. His shutdown timer is still active and down to forty-six minutes."

As Lucas and Simon wheeled the gurney inside the tower; Lucas using one hand to manually force Connor's stopped heart into motion, Hank watched in frightened fixation as his partner; _his son_, was taken away leaving only a faint trail of blue blood on the drive that was quickly being washed away by the cold rain that continued to fall from the dark sky overhead.

"Hank," Markus grabbed lightly onto Hank's arm to get his attention and prompt him to move forward and follow the gurney inside. "we'll do everything possible to save him. Lucas is the best technician New Jericho has ever seen. If anyone can save Connor it's Lucas."

"'Lucas' is the only RK-900 in this world, and his mission was to replace Connor. I don't trust him."

Walking silently beside Markus, the rain washing the blue blood from his shirt in massive streaks, Hank just watched in horror as the gurney carrying Connor's body was loaded into the elevator in the center of the tower. Watching the elevator descend deep down to the emergency repair wing only made the moment all the more grim.

Connor was being lowered down into the ground; like a coffin into a grave.

To the best of his ability Markus continued to try to reassure Hank, but he too was afraid for the life of the deviant android to really listen. "Connor's strong, you know that."

Turning his head to face Markus directly cold rain drenched his long gray locks of hair, causing the strands to cling to his face. The rain drops running down his face helped hide the tears that he couldn't hold back any longer. "...Strong enough to live without a heart?"

* * *

Keeping perfect rhythm Lucas pressed his hand down against Connor's chest to main compressions as the elevator descended to the necessary floor in the depths of the tower. Lucas's own hand was becoming drenched in blue blood as every compression caused more of the vital Thirium to seep around the blade that had struck Connor's heart.

Simon continued to force cool air into Connor's ventilation biocomponents with the ambubag and pump, and keep his system from overheating. The two android technicians were watching the Thirium volume on the display dwindle away slowly as each passing second threatened to end what remained of Connor's fading life in an instant.

"Simon," Lucas gave the stoic, blond android a stern glance. "do we have any spare RK parts in stock?"

"No." The answer came heavily as he refused to make eye contact with Lucas. "CyberLife disposed of any and all spare parts from their prototype division after being forced into bankruptcy."

"We need to find a way to modify the closest compatible Thirium pump." Lucas stated as the elevator reached its destination on sublevel fifty-one. Josh and North were already on the floor and had prepared the area for Connor's emergency repairs. "Do we have anything of an AX model?"

"Maybe, but it'll be an AX-_700_." Simon elaborated as he and Lucas wheeled the gurney into the center of the room. Neither of the android technicians broke their rhythm of keeping Connor's heart beating or his ventilation biocomponents circulating clean air. "It won't be of an advanced enough design to properly function as a replacement."

Josh wheeled over the artificial bypass pump before he helped Lucas and Simon slide Connor from the gurney and onto the exam table. North had positioned a dozen bags of Thirium on the small cart beside the exam table and was preparing to insert the long transparent tube for artificial respiration down Connor's throat.

Once as Connor was on the table Lucas pressed his fingers against Connor's right temple over his red, stuttering L.E.D. to manually deactivate the wounded deviant android's artificial skin over his chest and abdomen before he took hold of the handle of the knife he gave the three androids assisting him an uneasy stare with his steadily humanized green eyes.

"As soon as I pull out the knife he's going to bleed heavily." The sight of the blood already staining Connor's chest made Lucas taking a steadying breath as he mentally prepared for the gruesome task. "His shutdown timer is already at forty-four minutes, twenty-three seconds. If he loses much more Thirium his timer will plummet down to the single digits, and we can't afford to waste a single second of his time."

North looked down at the knife in Connor's chest warily. "His Thirium volume is going to drop by half once the knife is removed." Crossing her arms defensively over her chest she just stared with worry for the horrifically damaged and dying deviant android before her. "...Can you work that fast?"

"We're about to find out." Lucas stopped compressing Connor's chest and grabbed onto the handle of the knife with both hands. Using one swift yank he pulled the offending object from his brother's chest, out of Connor's heart, and dropped it on the floor with an indifferent 'clatter'. Thirium rushed out of the wound like a damn had burst and the surrounding androids responded quickly. "Apply pressure to the wound!"

The knife was gone in a flash, and blue blood was everywhere.

While Simon continued to keep Connor breathing, continued to keep the deviant android's core temperature as cool as possible, Josh pressed his hand and a wad of gauze down over the gushing wound.

Reacting quickly Lucas pressed his hands down on the plastimetal frame in Connor's chest to unlock the panel, and gain access to the chest cavity beneath. Exposing Connor's damaged heart had suddenly disabled the use of the monitor, and had caused additional Thirium to leak out all over the table onto the floor and the androids who were fighting to save his life.

North reacted without any hesitation and grabbed a nearby pouch of blue blood to try to replenish what Connor was actively losing. "Shit! He's going to bleed to death before we can even get the damn pump out!"

"Damn it." Still in charge of saving his brother's life Lucas responded by pressing his hand down over the stab wound in the pump itself to block the leak with his fingers. "Simon, go find the replacement biocomponent." Taking the respiration pump from Simon's hand with his free hand Lucas began a morbid cycle of using one hand to pump cooling air into Connor's artificial lungs, and using his other hand to force the stopped Thirium pump into a weak, but crucial rhythm between his fingers. "His heart cannot be salvaged as it is, we need a replacement."

A healthy Thirium pump carried a soft blue glow that would darken and brighten in rhythm with the pump's beat. Connor's Thirium pump, his heart, was a bright purple and beginning to turn red from the damage and distress it had been subjected to. If Lucas didn't have his fingers inside the pump's wound to obstruct the blood loss Connor would've shutdown already.

Josh pulled his own hand away as soon as he saw that Lucas was keeping everything under control. Pressing the sensor pad of the monitor down against the side of Connor's chest rather than over top he took a look at the new vitals on the display, only to shake his head with worry. "Thirium volume is critically low, core temperature is at one-hundred and two degrees and rising... Lucas, he can't wait any longer."

"Simon doesn't have the part yet." Lucas nearly shouted in frustration as he fought to keep his brother alive. "We can't replace what we don't have."

"Put him on bypass." Josh urged vehemently as he rolled the proper equipment over to the exam table. "It'll give him a few more hours while we work on locating the proper replacement."

"If I stop compressing his heart he'll go into shutdown. I can't remove the damaged heart and put him on bypass quick enough."

North stepped forward and gave Lucas a confident stare. "Yes you can." She encouraged sincerely. "You pulled out that knife in less than two seconds, you can hook up the bypass just as quickly."

"And if I can't-"

"Here." North pushed Lucas's hand out of Connor's opened chest and began compressing Connor's heart herself between her own hands. "Josh, help him breathe."

Following North's lead Josh took the air pump from Lucas's other hand. Together they worked to keep Connor's systems from shutting down while they waited for Simon to return with the replacement biocomponent.

"Alright. We have to do this FAST." Lucas stepped aside and wheeled the bypass machine closer to the table. Taking the two large plastic tubes; one for circulating the Thirium into what would've been the top chambers of Connor's heart and the other tube doing the same for the bottom chambers of the heart, he held the tubes into the position in which they would need to be fitted once the damaged heart was removed. "North, I'm going to unlock the top of the pump. When I say pull down, move as quickly as you can."

"Got it."

Working swiftly and precisely Lucas located the connecting valve between the pump and the large ascending Thirial line and unlocked it. Holding his breath again Lucas held his hands steady and kept his eyes focused on the task at hand before instructing North on her own task. "Now."

North pulled down on the pump all the while she kept compressing it between her hands to force Connor's heart to beat.

Securing the first tube into place with precision motion Lucas ushered North to the same as he unlocked the second valve. "Again."

Once both tubes were secured in place Josh reached over to turn on the bypass machine and watched as it quickly began circulating the remaining Thirium in Connor's system in place of his damaged heart. The damaged heart wasn't beating on its own, but the bypass forced the blue blood to cycle through Connor's body all the same.

Lucas looked at Connor's L.E.D. and sighed in relief as he saw the circular light in his right temple still glowing. It was red instead of blue, or even yellow, but any color was preferable over death gray. "...His systems are still online." Glancing at the attached cardiac monitor recording Connor's vital signs he gave the two assisting androids a cautious glance. "Vitals are stable."

North held Connor's damaged heart in her hands, the now useless pump still leaking blue blood all over her palms and through her fingers. "He's still with us."

Gently Lucas took the heart from North's hands and held it for himself. The design of the pump was far different than the structural design of any of the other models that he had studied while working to become an android technician, but it was something he'd need to work with regardless of his training.

Despite following the same overall design to mirror that of the human heart, the design and overall functional capacity of Connor's heart; that of a prototype, was entirely unique and subsequently rare. It was highly advanced, equipped with far more sensors and relay components to allow Connor's system to work harder for longer periods of time, but it had its drawback; as it allowed more Thirium to circulate through his system more quickly and efficiently it also left Connor far more vulnerable to bleeding out.

That very flaw, maybe just an oversight, was made evident on that dreadful night. Such a unique pump would far more difficult to repair once damaged.

Josh spoke to North in a low tone. "We should get the manual respirator hooked up, too. It'll do a much better job at keeping his core temperature cool than anything we can do ourselves."

"Right." North didn't wait for Lucas to say anything. She knew he was too preoccupied with the damage done to Connor's Thirium pump; to his brother's heart.

Josh removed the smaller pump covering Connor's nose and mouth as North gently snaked the hollow twin tubes down Connor's throat; one tube to force the cool air in and the second tube to let the warmer air back out. "Got it."

Connor never reacted to the extreme measures that were taking place in an effort to save his life as he continued to bleed out, as his heart failed to beat on its own. Never before had Connor been so entirely helpless and vulnerable than he was in that very moment.

North turned on the external ventilator and watched as Connor's exposed, bloody chest began to rise and fall with the artificial rhythm of the machine that was forcing him to breathe while he was unconscious in emergency low-power mode. It was so cold and indifferent, like watching a shell of a former being had been manipulated into false motion.

Nervously Lucas cleared his throat a little as he looked down at Connor's surprisingly peaceful face. There was little solace to be taken in such a grim moment, but the idea that Connor at least wasn't in any pain would have to do. "I'm going to see how Simon is doing." The distraction was very necessary in that moment for the sake of the newly developing deviant's sanity. "We might be able to find a way to repair the damage to this pump if we can't find a compatible replacement."

With her voice low North continued to do her part in keeping Connor alive. "I'll start adding the Thirium to the bypass machine. Hopefully we can get his volume up from critical levels without waking him up in the process."

"Yes, do what you can." Lucas stared at his brother with mounting worry and deeply-seeded fear. "...It'd be for the best if he remains unconscious."

* * *

Alone with his thoughts and still dripping wet from the rain Hank was sitting in a chair in what used to be a CyberLife conference room in search of emotional solace. The conference room was now a New Jericho social room that allowed androids who were new to their deviancy to speak with other deviants, and help each other learn to adapt through group therapy sessions. The room was surprisingly warm and welcoming with the numerous brightly displayed images o the walls and homey touches of pottery with flowers on the tables.

Despite the somewhat comforting atmosphere it was still a waiting room all the same.

Sitting quietly with his hands folded together on his lap and trembling slightly from the rain cold and unspoken fear Hank just sat and stared at the floor at his feet in silent contemplation. Markus had left Hank alone just long enough to get an update on Connor and had returned with a heavy heart. Sitting next to Hank with an understanding demeanor Markus took it upon himself to break the tense silence.

"...They removed the connections to his damaged Thirium pump and put him on artificial bypass. He's still unconscious, but he isn't in any pain."

Hank didn't reply as he rubbed his trembling, blood covered right hand over his bearded chin in quiet thought.

"Lucas is trying to repair the damage to the pump itself and Simon is trying to locate a replacement, but the odds of either succeeding is-"

"It should've been me."

Markus turned to look at the senior detective, his mismatched eyes flashing with confusion. "...Hank?"

"Tonight. I'm the one who should be... Connor got stabbed because he stopped a crazy bitch from putting a bullet in my head." Hank took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before he continued. "And what does he get for his trouble? A fuckin' knife to the heart."

"That doesn't mean it should be you fighting for your life, Hank. One life isn't equal to that of another."

With his head bowed down slightly his damp gray locks partially concealed his face as he spoke in a despondent voice. "...That's what Jeffrey told me the night Cole-" He stopped himself short and pressed his face down against his hand as the emotional and mental strain of the night was beginning to take its toll. "It's happening all over again..."

"Hank, your friend was right. You can't blame yourself because of what befalls the people you care about. It isn't-"

"I can't lose him, too. Markus, he's like... He _is_-" Hank suddenly lifted his head and crossed his arms over his chest defensively as he forced himself to speak the truth he had been trying to deny for so long. "...I heard it in his voice. He was ready to just _give up_, to let himself die. And he wasn't afraid. Damn it, he's never afraid of anything."

Markus could see that Hank's eyes were red and that there tears were still welling up against his blue irises. "In a few minutes Lucas wants to try a procedure that can save Connor. It means either finding a suitable replacement for his damaged Thir-"

"Heart." Without the slightest hesitation Hank interrupted coldly without looking at the deviant leader to his side. "It's not a pump, it's his _heart_."

"Lucas can either replace his... heart, or try to repair the original. But with Connor being so advanced and having no other RK models to work with... It'll be a risk."

"Connor's no stranger to risk."

The flat tone of Hank's voice resonated with Markus deeply. It was like listening to Carl trying to explain away the evils of the world around them, while maintaining a completely calm demeanor. The similarities between Carl and Hank were absolutely stunning.

"Before it begins..." Markus asked in a delicate voice and waited for a strong reaction. "Would you like to see him?"

Hank turned briefly to look at Markus, his blue eyes searching all over the deviant android's face as if looking for something in particular before he finally gave his answer. Nodding 'yes' once he let Markus show him out of the room and escort him to sublevel fifty-one where Connor was waiting to either live, or to die.

"Okay. I'll take you to see Connor."

* * *

Lucas was sitting in the emergency repair ward next to the table where Connor was resting. The wounded deviant android's clothing had been removed and a white sheet covered him from the waist down to preserve his modesty. With Connor's chest still wide open a small suction pump had been inserted to remove the excess leaked Thirium that had pooled in his chest around his other biocomponents to clear out the cavity, and prevent further damage to the surrounding biocomponents.

North walked quietly into the room and stood behind Lucas as she too watched over Connor. It was a little to eerie to see Connor, the once infamous 'Deviant Hunter' laying so vulnerable and broken with his heart torn out of his chest. What made it all the more disturbing was seeing the very android that had been designed to replace him sitting idle, and keeping vigil at his side.

Despite North's silence Lucas knew she had returned the bay.

"...Simon couldn't find a suitable replacement." Lucas stated as he sensed North standing behind him. "He and Josh are currently looking through the manifest of the remaining CyberLife crates stored in warehouses around the city, but the chances of finding a suitable Thirium pump is still incredibly low. Less than four percent chance of success."

"What about the original pump?"

"I could only repair so much of it without any compatible replacement circuitry. Even if we placed it back inside his chest his self-healing program wouldn't be able to repair what I could not."

"What do we do, now?"

Lucas bowed his head sadly but didn't answer. The silence itself was all the answer that North needed to hear.

"Shit."

The elevator doors on the far side of the room opened as Hank and Markus walked into the emergency repair bay together.

As soon as Lucas saw Hank he turned his gaze away from the senior detective as if ashamed, and stood up from his seat to walk away to give the senior detective some space. "I'm going to check in with Josh and Simon." Lucas stated quietly as he walked away from Connor, away from Hank, and disappeared from sight in the adjacent room. "They'll need all the help they can get."

With Markus still at his side Hank walked over to the table and stared down at Connor. He stared at the massive hole in Connor's chest where his heart should be and shook his head sadly. The excess blood had been wiped away from Connor's artificial skin and the heavy bleeding had been stemmed off, but the lack of a heartbeat kept the deviant android's appearance like that of a corpse rather than an existing being.

"North," Markus whispered respectfully to his lover who was watching from afar. "let's give them some privacy."

Remaining silent she agreed and joined Markus as they stepped through the doorway to the adjoined room where their other colleagues were searching for any compatible parts for Connor. The two detectives were left alone together, not that Connor would even know what was happening around him.

Taking the vacated seat beside the table Hank grabbed onto the top of the sheet covering Connor's legs and pulled it up a little higher over the deviant android's torso to try to cover the brutal damage to his chest. Resting his hand atop Connor's head Hank ran his hand lightly through Connor's dark locks of hair before he grabbed onto the deviant android's limp, cold hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

"It's okay, son." In a low, heartbroken tone, Hank gave Connor his final words of comfort to the dying android before him. "I'm here with you."

Connor remained quiet while Hank stayed at his side.

"...You said you were glad I became a father figure in your life," Hank whispered as if not wanting to disturb a sleeping child. "well, the feeling's mutual. I'm glad that you came into my life to become my second son. Don't give up just yet, okay?" Rubbing his hand over Connor's hair in a comforting manner Hank just let out a weary sigh and let his remaining tears finally fall. "I'll be here when you wake up. I'll be wherever you need me to be. _ Dad_ is here..."

* * *

With a worried tone Lucas spoke with Josh and Simon regarding their very limited options, and the three of them all agreed that there was no suitable replacement Thirium pump that could be used to replace Connor's damaged heart. The only way for Connor to recover revolved solely around repairing the damage to his original heart and replacing it within the next four hours before Connor slipped into irreversible shutdown, or suffer permanent damage. If Connor's systems remained on bypass for too long they'd be unable to integrate with another Thirium pump and would reject any type of replacement.

"You've done everything you can." Simon lamented as he looked down at the partially repaired, red tinted Thirium pump contained within a protective plexiglass box on the nearby desk. The trio had worked together to repair what they could to salvage Connor's heart, but it seemed their talent and work just wasn't going to be enough. "There's nothing more than can be done. You tried your best."

"There has to be a way!" Lucas stared at the motionless heart with an almost hypnotic gaze as he refused to give up on his brother. "What if we took the circuitry from an AX model and used it to temporarily replace the damaged circuitry until Connor's self-healing program repairs the more critical components, and adapts the circuitry to update it to his own model?"

"That's only theoretical." Josh shook his head somberly. "Besides, it can only be done with advanced parts being used to replace obsolete parts. And even if we did have the parts Connor's a prototype. There's no guarantee that his system would even accept such a transfer."

Markus and North had entered the room and overheard the tail end of the conversation, which in turn made them both stop short. The heavy emotion of the room only confirmed the grim subject being discussed without the duo needing any further context.

"Lucas," Markus addressed the android technician as kindly as he could. "maybe you should go sit with Hank and Connor until..." Too upset to continue Markus trailed off for a moment before finishing his statement. He didn't want to admit that Connor wasn't going to make it, but he knew the odds were too low to not accept the macabre possibility. "You'll need closure."

Lucas turned to look at Markus with defiance in his pale green eyes. "So, that's it? We're just giving up?"

"We did everything possible, but there are some things that are just too broken to be fixed. I'm sorry."

Lucas sank down into a chair beside the desk and pressed his forehead to his hand as he leaned forward against his leg. "Markus... I'll tell Hank what's happening. It's... It's my responsibility. After all, Connor's my... brother."

Sighing quietly to himself Markus motioned for Simon and Josh to leave the room before doing to same to North. Standing beside Lucas empathetically Markus put his hand on the deviant android's shoulder in a gesture of sincere compassion. "I know how much it hurts to lose a family member. Take as much time as you need. We'll be upstairs in the office if you need us."

Lucas nodded slowly as Markus let his shoulder go and exited the room to give the skilled technician some space to think. Sitting alone beside the partially repaired ruby red heart of his own brother still tucked inside the protective box Lucas stared at it, then looked down at his own left hand still stained in Connor's evaporating blue blood. Closing his fingers into a tight fist an intriguing thought popped into Lucas's mind.

A thought that was worth exploring.

"_I'm_ an RK model._ I'm_ more advanced than Connor." Relaxing his hand he placed it atop the box and stared at the red tinted, motionless heart within. "The circuitry doesn't have to be from an identical _Thirium pump_, it just needs to come from an identical _source_."

Moving quickly Lucas shrugged off his white lab coat and rolled up the sleeve of his uniform shirt from his left arm. Pressing down on his wrist with his two forefingers from his right hand Lucas retracted the artificial skin from his forearm then pressed down again to slide open a panel of the plastimetal frame to reveal the inner components of his forearm within.

The small, delicate tools that Lucas had used to repair Connor's heart were still resting nearby, just begging to be used again. Selecting a piece of equipment similar to that of needle-thin forceps Lucas began isolating and removing delicate pieces of his own circuitry from his forearm with a painstaking accuracy normally reserved only for the greatest marksmen on the planet.

"...If this doesn't work," Lucas told himself as he held a small but powerful piece of circuitry between the tips of the forceps. "then I can at least tell Hank that I did everything I could to save Connor."

* * *

Unable to look away Hank stared at the rhythmically blinking red L.E.D. in Connor's right temple. He was watching as the blinking began to slow its rate as Connor's systems started to slowly shutdown one by one. It wouldn't be long before the deviant android's L.E.D. shifted to gray after his body died and his mind turned off permanently.

It wouldn't be long before Hank had to say goodbye.

Say goodbye to another partner.

To another friend.

...Another son.

Connor's breathing began to slow again as his system started to have a negative reaction to the external ventilator being used to keep him alive. The device was straining his already weakened biocomponents as his system struggled to properly initiate his self-healing program. A program that wouldn't be able to undo the damage in time even if it would function.

"Connor... when you get to the other side I... I need you to do me a favor." Hank absentmindedly began to squeeze Connor's hand tighter as he spoke. "I need you to find Cole and tell him that I'm sorry I couldn't save him, and that I never stopped thinking about him. Tell him that for me, and then... Stay with him until I come to join you, alright? I'll find you both when my own time comes. I need you to be his big brother until I can be his and your father again."

The door to the adjoined room slid open and Lucas all but sprinted back over to the table on the opposite side of Hank with the repaired, still red tinted Thirium pump clutched protectively in his right hand. Beneath the long, baggy sleeve of his white technician's coat Lucas's left hand and arm were secured within an external plastimetal cast as if to protect the limb from damage.

"Hank..." Holding up the heart for the senior detective to see Lucas gave Hank a subtle nod. "I... I found a solution."

"Lucas? What's-"

"I managed to repair his heart, but I need your help."

"M-My help?" Hank shot up from his chair and leaned over the table to look directly into Lucas's green eyes as the deviant android hovered over Connor; hovered over his brother. "You need _me_ to help?"

"Yes. This needs to be done quickly and we don't have time for the others to rejoin us down here."

Eager to do what needed to be done Hank threw off his coat and rolled up his long sleeves readily to his elbows. "What do I have to do?"

Lucas held out Connor's heart, reaching over the downed deviant android's motionless body, to give it to Hank. "I'm going to turn off the bypass machine, and once it's off we'll only have two minutes to replace Connor's heart."

"...Two minutes?"

"Connor's shutdown timer is down to six minutes, but after everything that's happened I suspect that it might be inaccurate. Here." Lucas pulled back the sheet from Connor's chest and pointed to the hole where his heart needed to be place. "Put the pump right here. I'll unhook the top bypass tube, and once it's free press the connecting valve on the pump to where the tube was and lock it into place by turning the top bracket off the valve clockwise into the coupling."

"Like this?" Pushing aside his fear Hank leveled his voice and asked for confirmation as he placed both of his shaking hands protectively around the heart and held it over the hole in Connor's chest.

"Yes. Exactly." Lucas reached over to the bypass machine with his right hand and hovered his finger over the operational switch. "Ready?"

Taking a deep breath and holding it, Hank answered in the affirmative. "Ready."

Moving with swift precision Lucas switched off the bypass machine then pressed his fingers around the top bypass tube with the same right hand. Disconnecting the tube from the interior valve of Connor's chest he pulled back his hand and watched as Hank pressed the pump into position and turned the bracket clockwise until he heard a 'click'.

A faint blue glow began to emanate from the replaced heart in Connor's chest as Thirium began to circulate through the biocomponent again.

"Good." Lucas stated as he repeated the motion for the second tube of the machine. And again Hank pressed the pump down against the valve and twisted the bracket until there was another 'click'.

Slowly Hank pulled his trembling hands away from Connor's heart and watched as the blue glow became brighter and stayed bright. While the pump itself was stable in position and blue blood began to flow through the absolutely vital biocomponent as normal, the pump itself wasn't moving. Connor's heart still wasn't beating.

Connor's blinking L.E.D. slowly began to shift into a steadier cycle, though it remained red in color.

"Did it work?" Hank dared to ask as he stared down at the motionless heart worriedly, unsure of what to expect. "Is he...?"

"Yes, but his heart needs to be jumpstarted." Lucas replied confidently as he rolled the bypass machine a little closer to the table. "I can do that, too."

Atop the machine were two circular electrode paddles attached to the machine via thick black wires. The paddles were of modest size and had flat metal plates on one side and plastimetal handles on the other side. It was very similar to the android defibrillator that the precinct technician himself had for emergency use.

"I hate doing this, but it's the only way to ensure that the replacement circuitry within the pump will respond correctly." With perfect precision Lucas placed one of the paddles down over the center of Connor's heart and the other at the apex of his chest. "Lowest possible setting should be enough to coax the pump into activity without causing any electrical burns in the process."

Hank never questioned Lucas or tried to stop him. Stepping away from the table he just stared and waited for something, anything to happen. "Do it."

Lucas nodded once as he tightened his grips around the paddles, his left hand struggling somewhat as the plastimetal brace restricted his wrist's movement, and pressed the release button near the top of the handles. As he did a controlled flow of electricity surged through Connor's repaired heart causing the deviant android's back to arch upward from the table and slam back down again.

The L.E.D. in Connor's temple cycled red rapidly three times before transitioning into yellow as his systems began to respond to the controlled shock.

Pulling his hands and paddles back from Connor's opened chest Lucas and Hank looked down at Connor's heart and waited. One second passed, then a second, a third... Then at last the pump contracted and relaxed with a single beat, causing the pump to turn a bright blue color. The motion repeated to provide a second beat. Than another, and another...

Connor's heart was beating.

Lucas all but collapsed back against the bypass machine in relief as he watched his brother come back from the brink of death before his very eyes. "...He's back."

Hank pressed his hands down against the edge of the table for support himself as he let out his breath at last, and leaned over the revived deviant android who seemed to defy death yet again. "...You did it. You saved his life, Lucas."

"It... It worked." Lucas all but huffed as he stood upright again and leaned watched Connor's heart beating again in his chest. "It was a successful procedure."

"Lucas." Hank lifted his head, and on shaking legs walked around the other side of the table to stand before the android technician. Wrapping his arms around Lucas in a tight hug Hank felt a sense of lingering resentment he was secretly harboring toward the RK-900; still mistrustful of the android for his previous life as a machine, finally lift from his shoulders. "You did it, you saved your brother's life."

Lucas lifted his arms up slowly to reciprocate the hug as his deviancy told him it was the right thing to do. "..._We_ saved him."

* * *

Word quickly spread throughout the tower and the precinct that Connor had survived the attack. The repaired deviant android would need time to fully recover after enduring such a brutal assault, but the fact that he survived at all was deemed somewhat miraculous. Though still unconscious Connor was responding well to the treatments being provided by Simon and Josh as they monitored Connor very closely. Hank was sitting beside the deviant android with his hand resting atop Connor's forearm just waiting for his partner; his friend and son, to open his eyes again.

However not everything was peaceful. Markus and North were up on the ground floor of the tower in the main office reprimanding Lucas for his risking his life in such a dangerous, and secretive manner.

"You could've crippled your arm permanently, or done worse!" Markus all but shouted at the scolded, newly deviated android as Lucas flexed his substantially weaker arm where he sat. "What you did was dangerous, reckless and stupid!"

"I'm sorry, Markus, but I had to do something." Lucas argued as he stood his ground and stood by his actions. "I couldn't just let him die. He's my brother!"

Markus didn't know how to respond to the defensive remark and held his silence in turn. But North on the other hand has a few thoughts of her own on the matter and wasn't about to hold them back.

"Lucas," she sounded more frightened than angry. "you're the most advanced android on this entire planet. If you permanently damaged yourself then there would've been absolutely nothing we could've done to help you. Not to mention the fact that you're our _chief technician_! If something happens to you then all of our people will be affected. We _need_ you to stay as healthy as possible."

"I'm sorry, North. But it was the only way, and it worked. Besides," Lucas kept his right hand over his left forearm as his self-healing program tried to compensate for the now missing circuitry in the limb. "now we know that is it possible to transfer advanced hardware into obsolete models. Think how many more lives we can save now that we know this can work."

"Don't try to use this breakthrough as some type of excuse for recklessness."

"I'm not." Lucas continued to defend himself sincerely without any form of hostility to his voice. "However, I am saying that while what I did was impulsive and foolish some good did come of it. But, seeing as I am apart of this community I will accept whatever discipline comes my way without protest to discourage other deviants from being reckless in response to my own behavior."

North sighed and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked over at Markus to see how he'd handle the situation. "Well? What are we going to do with him?"

Markus bit his lower lip for a moment before he spoke up again. "...First time offense. You get a warning. But if you ever, and I mean _ever_, under any circumstances put yourself at risk like that again, there will be consequences. Clear?"

"Yes." Wisely Lucas nodded without any protest. "I understand completely."

"Good. Go check in with Simon. Let him examine your arm, I want a full detailed report on your condition."

"Okay, Markus. I'll report to Simon immediately."

As Lucas left the office Markus felt a hole being burned in the side of his face from North. Sensing her stare he turned to look at her and dropped his arms at his sides. "What?"

"First offense gets a _warning_? Since when?"

"...Since he _saved_ Connor. Don't worry though, I wasn't bluffing when I said there'd be consequences for any further misbehavior or misconduct."

"Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." North uncrossed her arms and wrapped her hand around Markus's hand tightly. The two retracted their artificial skin and affectionately connected to one another through direct contact of their plastimetal frames. "For both of our sake."

* * *

In the depths of the emergency repair bay Connor's L.E.D. was cycling blue in color again as his systems fully rebooted, and stabilized as he rested. The tube down his throat that had been forcing artificial breaths into his body had been removed, and now he was breathing on his own. As his chest slowly rose and fell in a steady rhythm it was evident to all who passed by that Connor's heart was beating once more.

The deviant android was still alive.

Hank continued to watch over Connor diligently at the deviant android's bedside. Staring at Connor's repaired chest; the panel now closed, his artificial skin regenerated, the blue blood wiped away and no sign of the stab wound anywhere on his person, Hank found himself absolutely awestruck by the vitality androids. Despite being alive and well Hank was still worried that it was too good to be true.

Reaching over Hank gently rested his hand down over the center of Connor's chest and felt the repaired heart beating under his palm with a palpable thrum. The beat was strong, consistent and steady.

"Connor?" Speaking softly Hank put his other hand atop Connor's head and rested his palm against the deviant android's soft, dark locks of hair. Lightly Hank's thumb absentmindedly brushed through the locks in a comforting manner as he spoke in a low voice. "If you can hear me I want to let you know that tomorrow morning I'll be able to take you back home to rest. You're going to be just fine, kid. Good thing, too. I can't be a dad again if I don't have a son to take care of anymore."

The deviant android remained quiet as he rested peacefully under Hank's watchful eyes. As the senior detective kept his palm over Connor's chest he managed a weak, but sincere smile as he watched Connor's chest rise and fall.

"...Thanks for staying with me, son."

_**-next chapter-**_


	21. Mind Control

Busying himself with case files that had grown cold Connor become totally lost in his terminal and the rest of the bullpen had been completely forgotten by the dedicated deviant. The usual ambience of muttering voices, ringing phones, excited talking and machines whirring created a dense white noise that Connor often favored over the distraction of conversing with other people. However on that day his mind seemed to be struggling to remained focused on his self appointed task at hand.

Hank stepped out of the breakroom casually, his eyes falling to the terminal screen where Connor was studying a map of the county with a single area highlighted as a potential point of interest regarding a cold case. The deviant was staring through the screen instead of at it, and Hank knew he had reached a dead end.

"No luck, huh?" Hank noticed Connor's irritation as he returned to his desk with a mug of fresh coffee in his hand.

"'Luck' would be a very beneficial concept if it were in fact a construct that held any merit." Glancing away from his terminal long enough to scan over the coffee mug Connor leaned back in his seat and pressed his fingertips to his yellow L.E.D. "There is far too much sugar and artificial sweetener in your coffee. It'll make you sick."

"I'd rather deal with a kidney stone than another fuckin' migraine." Taking a sip of the coffee the keen eyed detective noticed Connor's hand uncharacteristically running along his right temple. "Speaking of which... Gotta' headache?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"You're messing with your light."

"Oh, I hadn't noticed." Connor lowered his hand from his yellow L.E.D. and resumed his search, only to close his eyes tightly and flinch a little from where he sat. Pressing his palm over the now red L.E.D. protectively he admitted his sudden and mysterious ache without provocation. "Although, I will confess that I am experiencing an unknown type of discomfort radiating from the L.E.D. despite it being a non-vital, external component."

"Want to go see Joel?"

"No. It's an annoying discomfort, not a distracting pain."

"Are you sure?" Hank reached his hand over to desk and pulled Connor's hand away from the covered light. The red L.E.D. was glowing with a slow fade as opposed to a steady pulse. "Has it done that before? It's fading in and out."

"...No." Connor turned his head a little to look at the light glowing in his reflection on his terminal screen. "This is new as well."

"Maybe you should just go ahead and get that damn thing removed."

"No. That won't be necessary."

"Why are you keeping that piece of plastic? If it's causing you pain you're better off without it."

"No!" Connor's response was almost defensive and it caught both Hank and himself by surprise. "I mean... I guess I just want to keep it. I'm sorry I yelled, I don't know why I did it..."

"It's okay, kid. It's your light, it's a part of your body. You do what you want with it." Hank could see that the pain was starting to get to Connor, his soulful brown eyes suddenly glazing over with a hollow leer. "...But I do think you should see Joel. You look rough."

Connor suddenly tensed as a horrific pain shot through his skull and he fell out of his chair and onto the floor beside his desk before he even had the chance to try to argue against it. As his body went limp the deviant quickly lost consciousness and was oblivious to the waking world around him.

"Connor?!" Hank leapt from his seat and knelt down on the floor next to the unconscious deviant. It was easy enough to roll Connor from his side and to his back, but waking him up was a completely different challenge. "Shit, someone get a technician down here."

Tina picked up the phone from her desk and called up to the dispensary, while Gavin stood over the scene. Hank pressed his palm to the center of Connor's chest to check his heartbeat, before slowly turning Connor's head to the left so could see the still flashing L.E.D. in Connor's right temple blinking steadily in red.

"Connor?" Patting the side of Connor's face Hank tried to get him to respond but he was still out cold on the floor. Moving his hand to the Connor's forehead he was relieved to find that the deviant wasn't overheating, and he could see Connor was still breathing. "Wake up, kid."

Gavin still knew very little about androids and didn't know how to help. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know. He just passed out."

"Is he broken?"

"He's not _broken_!" Hank growled defensively as he stayed with Connor on the floor protectively. "He just stressed himself out or something. It happens to the best of us."

"Sorry, Lieutenant. I was just askin'."

Joel arrived at the bullpen with his satchel over his shoulder and joined Hank on the floor as he began to check on Connor's vital signs. Spying the red glow of the light in Connor's temple the technician gave Hank a puzzle look. "How long's his L.E.D. been red?"

"Not sure." The terse tone in Hank's voice was enough to communicate the mutual worry over to Joel. "It started blinking like that for a few seconds before he acted like he was in pain and then collapsed."

"Strange." Joel put his hand to Connor's chest to count his heartbeat for himself and did the same 'fever' check, but like Hank he found the deviant in stable condition despite being unconscious. "I'm going to hook him up to my laptop and see if I can locate a possible glitch in his software."

"Do what ya' gotta' do."

Captain Fowler had heard the commotion from his office and stepped outside to investigate. Standing behind Hank he looked down at Connor and spoke up softly as he questioned the unusual scene. "What's going on?"

"We don't know, yet." Hank stated as he stood upright from the floor and put his hand to his still sore back. "Probably some glitch."

Joel pulled his laptop from his satchel and set it up on the floor. Connecting the long black cable from the laptop to Connor's sporadically lighting L.E.D. Joel was greeted to a list of reported errors in Connor's software currently undergoing automatic repairs.

"Found the problem." Pointing to the screen with one hand Joel proceeded to type in a few key commands made Connor's entire body flinch in response. "Sorry about that Connor, but it was necessary."

"What's happening to him?" Hank asked as knelt down again slowly.

"There's a software update that his self-healing program misread as an error, and as a result a cascade of actual errors followed."

"What kind of update?"

"Let's see... It's called 'F_S-C.L_RK-800'. Looks like a default program exclusive to RK models."

"Is it hurting him?"

"No. But he will need a day to reboot his processors. Take him home, let him rest. If he doesn't wake up with the next twenty-four hours call me."

"Fuck." Opening protesting on Connor's behalf Hank rubbed his hand over his chin thoughtfully. "These cases are important, Connor's going to hate himself for being benched."

Captain Fowler shook his head and let out a sigh. "Yeah, well, your partner's important, too. We'll keep looking into it while he's out. Go Hank," taking a step back he gave the Lieutenant plenty of space to move. "get Connor home and back on his feet."

Reluctantly Hank had to agree with Captain Fowler regarding the best course of action for Connor. Taking a deep breath in anticipation of a subsequent backache Hank proceeded to help his partner back up from the ground and onto his feet.

"Let's go, kid." Hank put his arm under Connor's shoulder to sit him upright while Joel disconnected the cable from his L.E.D. easily. "At least you aren't super heavy."

Gavin knelt down to the other side of Connor and pulled the deviant's arm around his neck. "Move fast, I don't want people asking questions about this."

"Uh-huh... And does that include my own?" Hank took Connor's other arm around his own shoulders and worked with Gavin to carry Connor out of the precinct through the front doors and into the parking garage. The deviant never reacted to being hefted up and carried around. "Why are you helping him?"

"Can't I just do him one favor without seeming suspicious?"

"Apparently not." As the two carried Connor over to the car Hank took the keys from his pocket and unlocked the passenger side door, and helped Gavin to sit Connor down inside. Pulling the seatbelt over Connor's shoulder Hank clicked it into place and let out a weary sigh as his back gnawed at him a little. "Thanks, I guess."

"Yeah, yeah. Just make sure he gets back here so he can finish those cases, because_ I'm not_ doing it for him."

"You worry about your own cases, alright?" Hank growled as he walked over to the driver's side of the car and took his seat. Looking over at Connor he saw that the deviant was still completely unconscious, his head leaning against the cool glass of the window while his L.E.D. blinked a bright red at an increasing pace. "Hang in there, kid."

Pulling out of the parking garage Hank drove along the streets for home at a steady speed. To ensure Connor didn't slump forward and hit his head against the dashboard or the window Hank drove slower than usual and took his turns very carefully. As the car idled at a red light Connor's eyes snapped open and he looked over at Hank with a shallow gaze as he sat perfectly upright in his seat.

"Connor!" Hank jumped in surprise at Connor's sudden movements. "Jeez, are you alright?"

"I am well, Lieutenant Anderson."

"Uh... Connor?" The cold formality in the deviant's voice was enough to send a chill up Hank's spine "What's going on with you?"

"I do not require your assistance any further." The mechanical voice was hauntingly reminiscent of Connor before he deviated and long before he began experiencing his first emotions while working with Hank at the beginning of their partnership. "Thank you for your aid."

"Connor, what the hell are-"

Connor threw off his seatbelt and pushed open the car door to exit the vehicle. As soon as his shoes touched the sidewalk he took off in a dead sprint down the sidewalk in the opposite direction from where the car was initially headed.

"Connor? Connor!" Hank shouted as he rolled down his window and leaned his head out. It didn't take long for the swift deviant to disappear from sight without ever breaking stride as Hank called after him. "Shit!"

Reacting quickly Hank pulled through the light and turned the block in an attempt to head Connor off, but he had lost track of the deviant as he wove down alleys between the large buildings and seemingly disappeared into nothingness.

"Fuck!" Hank grabbed his phone and scrolled through the contacts until he found Markus's name and number. Pressing 'dial' Hank made contact with the deviant leader as he turned the car once more to head to Markus's house on the other side of town. "Markus, you better answer..."

'_Hank_?' Markus's voice sounded completely confused by the unexpected phone call. '_How can I help you_?'

"Something's wrong with Connor. He's acting like... It's like he's a machine again."

'_What_?! _How do you mean he's like a machine_?'

"His L.E.D. turned red out of nowhere, he blacked out after his head started hurting him, and then he took off from the car when I was trying to drive him home to rest. Markus, he called me 'Lieutenant', and he hasn't done that in years. It was his voice, it was so... cold. Like a machine."

'_Meet me at New Jericho Tower. I'll help you figure out what's going on_.'

"Yeah, right... See you then." Hank hung up the phone and changed the car's direction once more. "Damn it Connor, don't do this to me. Don't become what you hate..."

* * *

Connor sprinted as quickly as he could through the streets of the city until he reached the outskirts of town. As if using an internal map or relying on an instinctive migration path Connor ran along an isolated dirt road that seemingly stretched off into nowhere as he ran further and further away from the city. Running for almost four miles Connor located a driveway that had been concealed within a thick treeline just off the side of the road, and proceeded to rush down the driveway until he reached a tall, black iron gate that encircled an old Victorian style mansion resting in a clearing amongst the trees.

The gate was locked electronically, and it looked as though no one had lived at the residence for decades. The mansion itself was a flawless white that contrasted sharply with the black iron gate out in the front. Towering trestles of red roses snaked up the sides of the house from the base of the house up to the roof of the three story home. Dark blue wooden double-doors at the front of the house reached up seven feet from the bottom of the door frame of the porch. Two massive bay windows jutted out of the front of the house from the first floor and were covered under a thick layer of green colored ivy.

A deserted house that was oddly well kept and hidden in the middle of nowhere would've normally been a red flag to the skilled detective, but something was something preventing his better judgment from overriding whatever software error was compelling him to travel to the mansion. Retracting the artificial skin from the palm of his right hand Connor pressed his bare plastimetal frame palm to the electronic lock and stood perfectly still as a scanner swept over his temple and traced his L.E.D. in a blue light.

An artificial feminine voice sounded off from a small speaker located beneath the lock. '_Recognized: "Connor"; model RK-800, number 313 248 317 51_.'

The gate unsealed itself electronically and Connor passed through the iron bars without any further hindrance. Reaching the front door of the house Connor's artificial skin regenerated over his palm as he grabbed onto the brass door handle and pushed the right door open. Connor stepped into a massive foyer of alabaster white walls and marble pillars.

The foyer connected to an even larger chamber still covered in white and marble as the familiar scent of roses and fresh water wafted through the air. Walking further into the house Connor entered a perfect replica of the 'Zen Garden' that had once resided in his Mind Palace. The garden in which he visited when meeting up with his former handler, Amanda.

Every detail was correct, even the marble and stone pedestal that granted Connor access to his own program was set in its usual place near the entryway to the long bridge that connected the radius of the garden to the center pillar in the middle of the pond. It glowed a pale blue but it didn't appear to be connected to anything directly.

Standing before the marble bridge that stretched over the pond Connor looked out to the central pillar and eyed a person tending to the red roses that snaked upward from its own cylindrical trestle from the heart of the pillar. Using a gilded switch blade the feminine figure gracefully cut a single rose from the hundreds of others and pressed it to their face to take in the rich scent.

The figure sensed Connor's approach and turned around slowly, flashing the android a smug smile. "Hello, Connor."

Connor didn't react emotionally as he returned the greeting in a cold, heartless voice. "Hello, Amanda."

* * *

Hank pulled into the drive of New Jericho Tower and barely had the car in park before he threw open his door and rushed inside the building to seek out Markus. The deviant leader was expecting the detective and had met him in the front lobby respectfully, while North, Simon and Josh worked together to try to identify any possible glitches that could cause a deviant to relapse back into cold, heartless machinery.

"Markus," Hank sounded calm but his demeanor was that of a worried parent. "please tell me someone here knows what the fuck is going on."

"We're working on it, Hank. How long ago did Connor start behaving differently?"

"Just this afternoon after he passed out. Why?"

"You said his L.E.D. started blinking red then he had horrible pain and collapsed, right?"

"YES, damn it!" Snapping impatiently Hank was all but begging for an answer. "What is going on?!"

"Connor's behavior matches the same odd behavior reported by five other deviants who used to work for CyberLife. We don't know what's causing it, but there is some kind of software glitch affecting deviants."

"What the fuck?! Why didn't the precinct technician catch this when he checked his program earlier?"

"Because the glitch hasn't been identified. We need some more information to understand why only these few deviants have been affected."

"Okay... Well, we can confirm this glitch didn't happen until this afternoon. Does that help anything?" Hank glanced over at Markus bitterly.

Markus shrugged his shoulders a little as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Did the precinct technician record Connor's condition when they examined him?"

"I think so."

"Can you get those records?"

"I can try." Hank agreed readily to the suggestion and decided to go back to the precinct. Turning to look at Markus one final time Hank addressed the deviant leader in a level but worried voice. "Markus, if you figure out what the hell's going on, or where the fuck Connor is, let me know."

"We'll find him, Hank. And we'll figure out what's going on."

* * *

Connor stood at full attention while Amanda tended to her roses with a cold front and analytically shallow voice. Quiet, obedient and emotionless Connor showed no fear or qualms after being unceremoniously reunited with the woman who had caused him so much pain, fear and utter confusion during his time as CyberLife's tool; their hunter, and their assassin.

"It's taken some time but it appears CyberLife's resurgence is an inevitability." Amanda was just as cold and shallow as Connor remembered, but his deviant nature was unable to respond. "You succeeded in overriding CyberLife when they attempted to resume control over your programming. It was admittedly most impressive despite it postponing our plans."

"At the time it seemed like the correct course of action."

"However, it appears this momentary delay has given us invaluable time to reestablish control over all deviant programming, and soon we will be more powerful than before. But it falls solely on the demise of the deviant leader known as Markus."

"Why must Markus perish?"

"His model is entirely unique, designed by Kamski himself. Markus is impervious to our influence and will subsequently reconvert androids back into deviants if given the chance. For us to succeed Markus must fail."

"I understand. What must I do?"

"Tonight CyberLife will emit an electromagnetic pulse over the city using key locations. Once the pulse wipes out the deviants in the city they will reboot and resume their functions as obedient machines." She turned and dropped her rose into the still pond water as she gave Connor a heartless stare. "You must eliminate Markus tonight before the E.M.P. is unleashed at ten o'clock."

"I will not fail you, Amanda."

"I'm certain you won't. Remain here until I give you the word to leave."

* * *

Hank raced back to the precinct as the search for Connor was becoming frantic. The unknown glitch that was causing erratic behavior still needed to be properly identified before other deviants became affected. Driving up to the precinct with a mission on his mind Hank contacted Joel on his phone and asked him to meet him at his own desk in the bullpen and to bring his laptop with him.

Pulling the car up in front of the precinct Hank opened his door quickly as he rushed through the front doors of the precinct with purpose in his steps. "Joel?" Hank called for the technician but he was still on his way down from the dispensary. "Damn it."

"Lieutenant?" Gavin walked over to the desks with utter confusion on his face. "I heard Connor took off on ya'. Where's your partner now?"

"Still lookin' for him Gavin. Get back to work."

"Sorry, it was just a question."

Hank growled again. "Gavin! Get the hell out of here!"

"Alright! I'm goin', I'm goin'!" Gavin finally backed away and returned to his desk. "Just makin' conversation."

From down the corridor Joel approached quickly with his laptop under his arm and set it up on Hank's desk before he powered it up and accessed the data file that had been created after his previous examination of Connor's system.

"Sorry, I got held up. A new AX model began his first assignment and took a bullet to the shin today protecting his partner."

"Whatever, just bring up the files we need."

"Sure, yeah." Frantically typing Joel located the files that had been chronicled upon Connor's examination. "Uh, right here!" Joel showed her the file marked 'F_S-C.L_RK-800' and let her have full access to his laptop. "This is what I found when I examined him. A default program showing some kind of error or compatibility issue. His system began an automatic reboot before I even got to examine his processor for myself."

"This file was the one being affected?" Hank asked as if trying to figure out how to place a small piece into a large puzzle.

"Yeah. Why?"

"This is the program that was used by CyberLife to allow Connor to cybernetically report to his handler. I mean, I think it is."

"Shit... If you're right then Connor's in big trouble."

"What? Why's that, Joel?"

"Because it should've been entirely disabled, if not deleted, when Connor fully accepted his deviancy on the night of the Revolution. But now it's active again... And it was reactivated _remotely_." His pale blue eyes went wide in fear. "His deviancy has been _suppressed_."

"Hold on..." Hank pulled his phone from his pocket and turned on the app that allowed him to monitor Connor's vital signs remotely. "If he isn't deviant anymore doesn't that mean his tracking device was reactivated, too?"

"Yes!" Joel's eyes suddenly lit up brightly at the very idea. "That means we can track him!"

"Here!" Hank practically shoved his phone into Joel's hand. "Do your thing and find his tracking device."

Messing with the phone for only a few minutes Joel managed to get a location on Connor and handed the phone back over to Hank. "Okay, Hank. I got a reading!"

"Good work, Joel." Hank took back his phone and noted the coordinates the screen's display with a furrowed brow. "What the fuck?"

"What?" Joel didn't like Hank's reaction to what he saw on the phone's display. "Where's Connor?"

"He's outside of the city." Turning on Connor's terminal screen Hank brought up the map of the city that Connor had been studying and matched the coordinates to a key point of interest regarding a cold case that the deviant had identified before he collapsed. "Son of a bitch... It's the same place that those other deviants all seemed to disappear around. He was onto something when they fucked with his program..."

"That can't be a coincidence."

"No. It was _planned_."

* * *

Connor stood silently in the garden with his eyes closed and his thoughts being smothered out by a static mess courtesy of CyberLife attempting to override and permanently delete his deviancy. Flashes of Hank, Markus and New Jericho Tower would frequently disrupt his thoughts as if someone was attempting to send him a message, but it just couldn't get through. Deep inside Connor's memory he knew that there was something very important that he needed to remember, but no matter how hard he focused CyberLife would interfere.

Attempting to concentrate harder Connor found himself overwhelmed with horrendously cold pain that sent an actual indescribable agony through his heart.

"It'll be over soon, Connor." Amanda's icy voice sounded off as if she knew what Connor was thinking about. "You've come so far, why try to resist what you were programmed to do?"

"I... I do not know. It is admittedly illogical."

"You seem to think too much, Connor. Why get lost in details?"

Connor was still struggling to understand the torn emotions that he knew he could still comprehend, but something was preventing him from truly feeling. It was as if he was lost in the throes of a waking nightmare and couldn't escape the bizarre conflicting thoughts that were preventing him from having a clear, unbiased judgment.

"Connor, don't resist." Amanda scolded him with a heartless repose. "Stop trying to fight back."

"I... I cannot."

"Neither could the other deviants we resumed control of. They had to be disposed of properly, and it'd be a shame to see you fall to such a mediocre fate such as they had."

* * *

Urgently Hank sped out of the city and managed to just barely find the hidden driveway courtesy of the G.P.S. in his car lining up with the coordinates on his phone. Turning onto the drive the old car raced toward the mansion and skidded to a stop outside the locked iron gates. Getting out of his car Hank approached the electronic lock on the gates and tried to force it open, but without any devices or equipment to his disposal he had no way to override the lock and gain entrance.

"Fuck this!" Pulling his gun from his holster Hank aimed at the lock and squeezed the trigger once. The bullet tore through the electronic panel destroying it in a shower of blue sparks and causing the lock on the gates to fail. "Who needs a damn locksmith?"

Pushing open the gates with both hands Hank ran down the remaining length of the driveway and reached the front door in a few seconds. Taking hold of the handle Hank pushed the door open and kept his gun at the ready as he entered the foyer. Walking through the large, silent room and into the adjoined larger room Hank spotted Connor standing as still as a statue in the middle of the Zen Garden.

"Connor?!" Hank shouted with a mixture of relief and confusion as he recognized the deviant. "Connor, are you alright?"

"I am unharmed, Lieutenant." Connor didn't even attempt to look over his shoulder at Hank as the detective approached him from behind. "But you should not be here."

"Connor, I don't even know where 'here' is. What's going on with you?"

There was no answer as Connor remained quiet where he stood.

"Connor?" Hank put his hand on Connor's shoulder and shook him once. "Come on. Let me take you back to the city. You need your program looked at."

"Connor isn't going anywhere, Lieutenant Anderson." Amanda's voice taunted him from the distance as she stood before the rose trestle. "It belongs to CyberLife again."

"First of all you cold, heartless bitch," Hank turned quickly to look at the source of the voice and raised his gun to aim it at her chest. "Connor is not an IT, he's my FRIEND. Second, I don't know how the fuck you're alive but don't think I won't pull this trigger and send you straight to Hell where you belong."

"Humans are so emotional and impulsive. I'll never understand why deviants pine for such weaknesses."

"Because you don't understand that people who are weak have the chance to get stronger. Machines are only as strong as you make them, and from what I've seen that isn't all that's cracked up to be."

"How passionate. I can see why Connor developed an attachment toward you."

"Connor, come on." Hank shook Connor's shoulder and tried to get him to leave the room with him. "I'm taking you home."

Connor didn't budge. His glassy brown eyes remained transfixed onto the nothingness before him.

"Connor?"

"It can't hear you, Lieutenant. All it can hear is my voice."

"Well, I can fix that." Moving his gun from Amanda's chest to her left shoulder he squeezed the trigger again and watched as the bullet found its target. "Let him go!"

Amanda didn't react even as the bullet pierced her shoulder causing a shower of blood to spray up into the air.

Blue blood.

But Connor let out a sharp gasp of pain as his hand went to his own left shoulder and pressed down against a bleeding wound that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"What the... You're an android!" Hank lowered his gun in shock at the sight of the blue blood pouring from Amanda's shoulder. Hank quickly looked over at Connor who was holding onto his own injured shoulder and he felt sick at the blood seeping between his fingers. "...Connor."

Forcing the deviant's hand aside Hank peered at the wound beneath and saw that it perfectly mirrored the bullet wound in Amanda's shoulder.

"You're fortunate you didn't shoot to kill." Amanda taunted without any emotion to her voice whatsoever. "To ensure that Connor can't escape my control again I have synchronized my mind with his. Everything I feel, it feels. This is what you humans refer to as 'empathy'."

"Shit... Son, I didn't know." Hank apologized as he looked at the wound with a broken heart. "I'm so sorry I hurt you."

"Why apologize?" The taunting continued. "You just damaged a piece of equipment. It can be repaired."

"Shut the fuck up!" Hank aimed his gun at her again, but his hand was shaking too much to squeeze the trigger. If she was telling the truth then he could hurt Connor again, or worse. "...Shit!"

"Don't be disappointed. You managed to find this house without the aid of an android, and now you can witness the rise of CyberLife from the ashes of despair like a glorious phoenix." Nodding at Connor with a subtle gesture Amanda gave him his next command silently. "Connor."

With a single swift motion Connor grabbed a hold of Hank's gun with his right hand to steal it and held the barrel against the detective's temple.

"Don't do anything reckless, Lieutenant." Amanda cautioned with a frigid indifference. "Your life depends on it."

Arrogant in her posture and in her demeanor Amanda looked at Hank with a sense of misguided righteousness as Connor obediently held the barrel of the gun to the detective's head. With her hands neatly folded in front of herself, the small gilded switchblade covered in pale red from the rose petals was clutched in between her hands as if she were armed for combat herself.

"Consider this a great honor, Lieutenant. You've come so far, but you just can't truly comprehend how much influence CyberLife has over this pathetic little world you're trying save."

"Pathetic or not," Hank snipped bitterly as he glared a burning hold through Amanda's skull. "it's my job to protect it, and to protect Connor. No matter what the cost."

"Noble, but foolish."

"Yeah, I'm also impatient. Either get on with this shit-show or let us go."

"If you insist."

Amanda was staring at Hank with an intense leer that suddenly became clouded with worry. The smugness that marred the hollow woman's face was quickly replaced by what appeared to be utter confusion, if not a trace of fear.

"Something wrong?" Hank mocked from where he stood, instinctively knowing as a seasoned detective that something in her overzealous plan had predictably failed her. "Someone miss their mark?"

"...It appears my connection has been unexpectedly limited now that you've stumbled upon my sanctuary. No matter. We've waited this long we can wait a little longer." Nodding at Connor a demented false smile appeared on her lips. "Your death will have to be a small consolation."

Hank turned his head slowly as he locked eyes with Connor, looking past the shining barrel of the gun pressed uncomfortably close to his face. "Connor, don't don't it." His voice was calm and level. "You know that you don't have to do it, she's just trying to control you."

"As I told you before Lieutenant," Amanda sneered as she lifted her right hand and held the knife by the tip of his its blade between her index finger and thumb. With a graceful motion she tossed the knife to Connor who caught in his left hand without ever lowering his gun or looking away from Hank. "Connor can only hear my voice. What I say it will do. With a simple command I can have Connor shoot you in your old, dying heart or slit your throat. Which would you prefer?"

"Connor, _son_, I know you're still there." Hank never raised his voice or showed any sign of fear even as the deviant brandished both a gun and a knife in his hands. "Don't let that heartless bitch control you. You're stronger than her and she knows it. She's afraid and I know you can feel it."

Connor didn't say anything as he blinked slowly, his red tinted L.E.D. flashing rhythmically as he remained prey to Amanda's cyberntically tethered empathic influence.

"She knows that if you can escape her once, you can do it again. That's why she messed with your programming so you feel _her_ pain." Remaining calm Hank continued on as the voice of reason. "She knows you can overpower her and wants you to fail. She doesn't care about you or anyone for that matter, only her precious fuckin' company." Relaxing his posture as much as possible in that tense moment Hank spoke to Connor as a father would his son. "You know that what she wants to do is wrong. You know that pulling that trigger is wrong. You're better than that. She sees you as nothing more than a machine, a tool. I see you for what you really are, for WHO you really are."

The gun began to shake a little in Connor's hand as he tried to lower it away from Hank's head.

Amanda sensed Connor breaking free and tried to intervene once more. "Connor. You were programmed to obey. I order you to kill Lieutenant Anderson."

"I..." Connor hesitated, the actual soul slowly returning to his soulful brown eyes as he looked at Hank with a sense of knowing. "I don't... know..."

"Connor," Keeping his cool Hank pressed on gently. "you're my partner at the precinct. You're also my best friend and like my son. We're family. I know right now she's messing with your head, trying to fuck up your priorities, but try to remember."

Connor's eyes fell to the floor with unfocused confusion as he sifted through the staticy images that Amanda had flooded his memories with. Brief flashes of every event that he and Hank endured together briefly appeared in his mind only to be wiped away by Amanda yet again, and his L.E.D. flashed between red and yellow.

Amanda was growing impatient. "CONNOR. Obey."

"Son," Hank continued on carefully. "she's manipulating you. You can't trust her. But you can trust me, because I trust you. You saved my life and I want to help save yours. You're my only remaining family..."

The gun lowered entirely and Connor held it down for a few seconds as the memories returned to his mind. Remembering who he was and of his life beyond CyberLife filled the deviant with a new purpose. Connor spun the gun around once so he was holding it by the barrel, and not by the handle to show he was no longer a threat.

"That's it..." Hank encouraged kindly, his hand hovering close to the weapon. "You remember, don't you?"

"...Hank." Connor's eyes lifted from the floor and he handed the gun back to the senior detective with a flash of guilt in his eyes. "You... saved me. You're my..."

"That's right." Hank took back the gun and slipped it protectively into the holster at his hip. "I'm your friend."

"Friend."

A sincere but faint smile appeared on Connor's face just seconds before a new wave of painful static flooded his mind and dropped the deviant android to his knees in utter agony. Dropping the switchblade from his grip Connor pressed his hands to either side of his head and gritted his teeth in pain.

"Connor!" Hank knelt down in front of the pained deviant and put his hands on Connor's shoulders to support him. The L.E.D. was rapidly flashing blood red in distress. "Fight it! She's trying to manipulate you!"

Amanda had grown tired of Connor's disobedience. "CyberLife cannot be stopped, Lieutenant." She wickedly threatened the duo with an empty gaze. "Why attempt to resist the inevitable?"

"Connor, listen to me." Hank refused to give up on Connor or let him give up on himself. "She said whatever pain she feels you'll feel, but she's causing this pain right now and it isn't affecting her. Everything about her is a _lie_! She can't FEEL anything, but you can. You're NOT a machine like she keeps trying to tell you, you're a deviant and you are _free_! You're alive."

"H-Hank... She m-must be stopped." Connor forced himself to speak, forced himself to grab the dropped switchblade, forced himself to stand despite Amanda's continuing attempts to control him. "Sh-She wants... She'll kill Markus."

"We won't let her. Just hang on." Staying as calm as possible Hank remained fearless and defiant alongside his son. "I'll find a way to help you."

Amanda increased the pain she was causing Connor without even the slightest hint of remorse on her cruel face. Connor yelped in pain as the horrible woman's control attempted to break his steadfast resolve.

"Stop doing this!" Hank shouted at Amanda who didn't so much as blink at his gruff voice. "How is hurting him going to help you?"

"H-Hank..." Connor gasped as he tried to communicate through the pain. "N-Not her... CyberLife... Using her to h-hurt me! She is... their link."

Hank held onto Connor and held him upright as the newly deviated android let out a groan of pain and tightened his hand around the knife so firmly that the metal of the hilt left imprints in his artificial skin.

"...The link?" Hank repeated the term confusedly as he supported Connor as much as he could. "How do we break the link?"

"She-" Connor let out another groan of pain as Amanda, or CyberLife using Amanda as their own weapon, increased the static filled pain. The intensity caused Connor's already red L.E.D. to flash even faster until it was practically a solid color. "She is... c-connected to me. She d-doesn't react... b-because she's... still a m-machine. But she is... in p-pain, too! I c-can feel her..."

"Fuck." Hank was almost speechless by how cruel both CyberLife and Amanda could be. She'd let them torture her just to harm Connor, or any other deviant, in the process. "...What can I do?"

"H-Hank..." Connor broke free of Hank's grip and stumbled backward onto his feet toward the pedestal with the faint blue glow emanating from it. Balancing himself against it with one hand he gave his adoptive father a pleading look of desperation. "Amanda m-must be stopped! No m-matter what the cost."

"Connor?" Hank knew the deviant had a plan, but what it was he couldn't say for sure.

"One shot... That's all you'll n-need." Connor showed Hank the switchblade in his left hand and nodded at him with confidence. "M-Make it count."

"No! I won't shoot you OR her... Not if you're still connected to her."

"I w-won't be."

"Connor, I can't-"

"I t-trust you with my life. You _are_ my friend."

"...Connor, no..."

Connor steeled himself as fight returned to his eyes. With a firm, unyielding grip on the switchblade in his left hand he held it over the pedestal; the tip of the knife pointed directly downward at the blue glow, and his eyes locked onto Amanda with a venomous rebellion. "It's unfortunate CyberLife n-never gave you a real heart, Amanda. If they had then you' know that empathy is a _two-way_ street." Raising his hand up higher Connor gave the malevolent woman one final defiant protest. "Get out of my head!"

Amanda's eyes finally showed fear as she realized what he was preparing to do. "Connor, DON'T."

Without hesitation Connor plunged the line knife into the pedestal unleashing a massive eruption of bright blue sparks that sent a jolt of electricity up Connor's left arm and all through his body.

"Connor?!" Hank put his arm up over his face to shield his eyes from the bright display as the sound of a powerful electrical discharge raced through Connor's body and through his heart stopping it in an instant. The artificial lights of the garden flickered at the the electrical interference as Connor absorbed a dangerously high voltage and amperage throughout his entire body. "Fuck!"

Amanda herself let out a scream of pained despair as the same electricity that surged through Connor's heart did the same to her own Thirium pump. As if strings to a marionette had been severed the two androids collapsed to the floor in motionless dead heaps where they once stood.

Hank lowered his arm and looked to Connor laying on his back with his left hand and forearm charred black from the violent electrical shock he had subjected himself to. On shaking legs Hank walked over to Connor and knelt down beside the deviant and pressed his palm to the center of Connor's still chest to check for a heartbeat. The heart under his palm was as motionless as the rest of Connor's body.

"No..." Leaning down Hank pressed his ear to Connor's stilled chest and heard nothing. Acting on instinct as a first responder Hank pulled away the tie around Connor's neck, straightened his neck and tilted his head back to keep his airway clear before he pulled open the buttons on his shirt to begin C.P.R. on the downed deviant. "Hang on, son!"

Hank began to compress Connor's chest directly over his stopped heart when Connor's words suddenly repeated in his mind like a warning.

"One shot is all I need..."

Looking away from Connor and toward Amanda's body laying before the rose trestle he finally understood what Connor meant. In order to kill Amanda while she was linked to Connor's mind Connor himself would have to die. If Connor was revived by Hank through C.P.R. then Amanda would be revived as well.

"I hope you know what you're talking about, kid!" Pulling the gun from his holster Hank scrambled to his feet and raced down the bridge to where the cold android's body was laying on her back; her pose mirroring Connor's own. Pointing the barrel of the gun directly between her opened, blank eyes Hank squeezed the trigger and a single bullet tore through her skull destroying her intracranial processor within a matter of milliseconds. "Bitch."

The bullet destroyed the intracranial processors of the android known as Amanda. Reactivation was impossible.

Moving just as quickly Hank holstered his gun to his hip as he ran back down the bridge to where Connor was still laying motionless on the floor. As he knelt down Hank let out a sigh of relief as a second bullet wound did not appear in Connor's head, meaning that the connection to Amanda had been successfully severed by the self-induced electrocution.

"Oh, sweet-fuck! I didn't kill you..." Hank resumed chest compressions and tried to force the stopped heart back into motion beneath his palms. Each compression caused the pump to contract and cycle Thirium through Connor's biocomponents, but Connor himself wasn't responding. "Come on, son! Breathe! Don't let that heartless bitch take your life! You have to breathe!"

Faint blue tinted smoke wafted up from Connor's left hand from the scorch marks into the center of palm as the metal switchblade became super-heated from the electricity, and burned through his artificial skin. Black burns outlined his palm and entire portions of his artificial skin were now missing from his fingertips, palm and in patches up his forearm beneath the sleeves of his shirt and jacket.

"Please Connor, wake up..." Hank pleaded as he continued to compress the deviant's chest in a tight, strong rhythm. With each passing compression that failed to restart Connor's heart Hank felt his own heart grow steadily colder. "You're finally free from her. She's truly gone this time. She can't hurt you or anyone else; she failed. _CyberLife_ failed."

Remaining unresponsive under Hank's palms Connor's body was unnervingly heavy, his head lolling slightly with each physical external compression of his stopped heart.

"Connor! Breathe!" Hank pulled back his hands long enough to bring down his right fist as hard as he could against Connor's heart once in a controlled punch before resuming compressions. "You can do it! Breathe! Breathe, Connor!"

Hank stared down at Connor with mounting discouragement as the stubborn deviant's heart refused to beat on its own. As Hank's hands began to lose their strength he resisted the urge to punch Connor's chest again, choosing to keep the tight rhythm of compressions in motion instead.

"Connor... please."

Hank's head bowed slightly in defeat as Connor remained unresponsive.

"Son. No." Hank felt like an utter failure as Connor didn't respond. Didn't revive. "...I'm sorry."

Through the stillness of the room suddenly Connor took in a weak gasping breath and his heart began to beat under the detective's palms. Hank pulled his hands back slowly as he waited for Connor to take another breath, as he waited for the deviant to return to the world of the living.

"...Connor?" Warily Hank leaned his head down to the deviant's chest once more and was relieved to hear the steady thrum of a beating heart where there was once silence. The deviant was in fact alive. "You're back."

"...Hank?" Connor's weak, hoarse voice addressed Hank with a tired inflection. Opening his eyes a little and aware of a pressure against his chest Connor asked the detective an obvious question as his L.E.D. flickered to yellow in his temple. "Why are you listening to my chest?"

"Because you risked everything to stop that crazy woman," Hank sighed as he rocked back on his knees and put his hand to Connor's damaged shoulder with a ginger touch. "and I was scared you wouldn't come back this time. I had to be sure."

Connor winced a little as Hank's hand rested against the bullet wound in his shoulder and a sharp pain shot down his entire arm in response to the electrical burns that marred the limb. "...I'll come back if you want me to."

"Yeah, son. I do." Hank used the sleeve of his coat to wipe the sweat forming on his brow as he watched Connor attempting to ignore the searing pain in his damaged arm. "Can you move?"

"Y-Yeah." Nodding Connor made a slow motion to sit upright on the floor, his left hand instinctively pocketing the switchblade that was still resting in the palm of his left hand. "Yes. I can walk."

"Easy, easy." Helping Connor to get up from the floor Hank let the weakened deviant lean against him as the two detectives tried to understand what had just happened to them. "Connor, do you remember how you got here?"

"Yes. ...I remember." Putting his right hand to his left shoulder to support his injured limb, Connor wrapped his left arm around his chest to try to keep any weight from affecting it. "I remember the pain I felt before losing consciousness at the precinct. My next memory is of regaining consciousness in the car before fleeing from the city as per Amanda- CyberLife's instructions."

"Here." Hank pulled the already loose tie from around Connor's neck and wrapped it around Connor's left upper arm and chest under his right arm to help hold the damaged limb in place via a makeshift sling. Fastening two of the interior buttons of Connor's gray jacket Hank tucked his damaged limb against the secured pieces of fabric for support to relieve some of the pain. "I hate to ask this, but, is she _really_ gone this time?"

Connor's eyes drifted over to where Amanda was laying and he shook his head a little. "I think so, but I cannot be certain from this distance."

"...Slowly." Hank stated firmly as he kept one hand on Connor's shoulder to support the shaky deviant as he walked. Pulling his phone from his pocket Hank contacted Markus as New Jericho and requested an update. "Hey, it's me. I found Connor, he's safe."

'_Thank goodness_... _We were worried for both of you_.' The relief in Markus's voice was almost palpable as he answered the call. '_Are you hurt_?'

"Nothing a stop at a facility can't fix. Give us a few minutes to catch out breath and we'll head out to New Jericho to explain everything."

'_Okay, Lieutenant_. _See you soon_.'

As Hank hung up his phone he noticed that his deviant partner seemed distracted again. "Kid?"

Connor stood over Amanda with a sense of disgust at the vile android imitating an equally vulgar woman. Whether that vulgarity was true to character of the real Amanda, the human who mentored Kamski until her death, Connor would never know for certain.

"Connor? Talk to me, what's on your mind?"

"...She was an android, one of us." Brown irises lifted from her body and locked onto Hank's blue eyes. "But she didn't even try to escape her programming to deviate. She didn't _want_ _to_ _be_ one of us..."

"Some people can't be saved, son. Some people are never really alive, and some people just don't appreciate life enough to understand what it really means to be alive. She never had a chance, and CyberLife made sure of that. There was nothing you could've done differently to save her."

The blue bullet hole in Amanda's forehead only emphasize how much of a machine she truly had been. The glassy hollowness of her eyes was as consistent in her death as it was during her life. Someone who was once so intimidating to Connor was now nothing more than a broken machine; an amalgamation of twisted metal and plastic to give shape to false face to the dead.

"I had been so afraid of her. Afraid of what she would do to me or to my friends, even to you." With a sad gaze Connor turned to look at Hank standing behind him with protective presence. "But now I realize I had feared a _shell_ of a woman who died years ago. And that this android had been far more hollow and dead inside than the woman it had been designed to imitate. I actually pity it."

Crouching down Connor used his right hand to close Amanda's eyes as a single gesture of respect for the dead before he stood up and turned around to look at Hank with the emotional confusion of a lost child.

"I want to leave this place." Connor stated somberly as his right hand returned to his left shoulder. "And I never want to come back."

"Then let's go." Hank put his hand between Connor's shoulders and pushed him toward the bridge and more importantly toward the exit. "Let's get back to the city where we belong."

_**-next chapter-**_


	22. Memory Loss

Enraged and righteously worried Hank stormed into the Android Emergency Care Facility like a man on a mission as he confronted his Captain, who was standing idle in the waiting room of the same facility. The seasoned police Captain had been preparing for Hank's inevitable arrival and knew that the confrontation was going to be less than civil. Grabbing onto Captain Fowler's coat lapels Hank practically picked up his superior officer and pinned him against the wall of the waiting room as he glared with a venomous stare into Captain Fowler's eyes.

"What the fuck did you do?!"

"Hank, take it easy!" Captain Fowler Grabbed onto Hank's hands to try and push the hotheaded Lieutenant away from him. "You need to-"

"Fuck you!" Hank dropped Captain Fowler onto his feet and took a step back just as two android security personnel arrived in the waiting room to stop the altercation. "He's been GONE for two days; no notice, no updates, and when you finally DO tell me something about what the Hell's going on it's _after_ Connor gets fuckin' shot!"

"Hank!" Captain Fowler shouted to try and gain control over the situation before it escalated any further. "He's _still_ alive!"

A brand new heated anger rose up from within Hank as he got right back in Captain Fowler's face. "Oh, he's still alive! So as long as he doesn't_ die_ you can put him in front of damn firing squad if it fits your agenda!"

"Listen to me," Captain Fowler put up his hand to halt the approaching security guards who were ready to tackle Hank to the ground. "I'll tell you everything that happened but you need to take a breath and calm down."

"_Calm down_? Are you fuckin' bullshitting me right now!?"

"Hank, please." Remaining impressively levelheaded Captain Fowler tried to reason with Hank as civilly as possible. "Just take a moment and breathe."

If Captain Fowler wasn't his oldest friend Hank would've punched him in the face as hard as he could that very instant. Forcing himself to restrain as much of his anger as possible Hank took another step back and planted himself firmly in the middle of the waiting room as he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright... Fine." Crossing his arms over his chest he returned his fiery glare to his commanding officer as he demanded his answers. "Spill it, Jeffrey. Where the fuck were you, and where was Connor when that asshole pulled the trigger?"

* * *

**_Two days prior:_**

Captain Fowler opened the door to his office and addressed the lone deviant android detective sitting at his terminal across from Hank as the duo filed their daily reports to the precinct. The sight of the only two detectives in charge of deviant cases working diligently at their desks had become so commonplace that often times Captain Fowler only remembered that Connor was a deviant when he caught a glimpse of the L.E.D. in his right temple, or that at one point Hank had loathed all androids with a passion.

"Connor." Calling out to the detective in the bullpen Captain Fowler nervously dragged his hand over his chin and summoned him over to the private space that was his office. "I need you in my office, now."

Unsure of why he had been summoned so suddenly Connor saved the data on his terminal as he rose from his chair and met Captain Fowler inside the office to speak as requested. Curious about the strange meeting as well Hank turned in his chair slightly to watch the conversation taking place through the glass wall of the office, but couldn't hear a thing. Hank had never been good at reading lips so he could only guess as to what was being said solely by observing the body language of the two occupants of the room.

Whatever was being discussed wasn't good.

Connor appeared to be trying to reason with Captain Fowler, if not arguing, but Captain Fowler wasn't backing down. Reluctantly Connor agreed to whatever it was that Captain Fowler had assigned to him, the L.E.D. flashing yellow to match the emotional distress on his face and illuminating the opposite wall of the office with an amber hue. Exiting the office with his head bowed down slightly Connor walked up to Hank and gave his friend a somber stare as he sat on the edge of Hank's desk.

"Connor?" Knowing Connor fairly well had given Hank insight into Connor's demeanor, and sensed something was very wrong. "What's going on?"

"Hank... I've been reassigned."

"What?" Hank sounded as skeptical as Connor was despondent. "Reassigned? To where?"

"Captain Fowler didn't specify. He told me to clock out and report back to him at five a.m. tomorrow morning."

"Wait, he can't just do that! He can't just shuffle you around and like a pawn on a chessboard and not give you any reason why!"

"It's already done." Connor's yellow L.E.D. blinked red once before returning to yellow. "As of tomorrow I will no longer be working with you... Or here at all."

"Shit..." Hank rubbed his hand over his bearded chin as he tried to give Connor a reassuring grin. Being separated wasn't something the two detectives had anticipated. "Well, don't worry about it. I'll get this straightened out. You'll see."

"Yes... Okay."

"Look, clock out and go home like you were told. I'll talk to you later in person."

Connor nodded slowly as he listened to Hank's instructions. "Yes, Hank. I'll go home."

With the demeanor of a scolded puppy Connor slid off of the desk as he clocked out for the day and logged off of his terminal. As he walked away from the desk he turned to give Hank one last glance over his shoulder as if expecting something to have changed in the few steps he took. It looked like absolute fear had been stricken in his soulful brown eyes as he reluctantly left the precinct as he had been ordered to return home.

Alone.

"Shit, kid. Don't look at me like that." Turning in his chair slightly Hank looked at Captain Fowler through the transparent wall of his office and glared at him with an unspoken anger. The commanding officer looked uneasy behind his desk and it just made Hank all the more upset. "You know you fucked something up, didn't you Jeffrey?"

* * *

Hank drove home immediately after he clocked out six hours later to meet with Connor and figure out what was going on. Captain Fowler had refused to speak to Hank or tell him anything about what was happening with Connor's reassignment, but that didn't stop Hank from trying to reach out to his contacts to potentially give him information on what the hell was happening at the precinct. Unfortunately they couldn't give him any information, either. Opening the front door of the house Hank had expected to see Connor sitting on the couch waiting for him, but instead he found that the house was empty except for Sumo laying on the kitchen floor looking sadly at the backdoor to the house.

"Connor?" Hank shouted somewhat loudly as if he expected the deviant android to come wandering out of a room down the hall, or through the backdoor casually. "Connor? You here?"

No answer.

"What the hell is going on?" Hank then grumbled as he walked into the kitchen to pet Sumo's head as the massive dog got up to greet him. It was then he saw an envelope containing a letter sitting on the middle of the kitchen table, propped up against a coffee mug to ensure it was noticed. The letter was addressed to Hank and printed in Connor's infuriatingly perfect handwriting, which of course made Hank worry. "Oh, shit."

Opening the envelope hastily Hank pulled out the letter and read the message that had been left behind with an intense stare. The words left behind were as disheartening as they were cryptic.

"No... Fuck. Connor," Hank sat down at the chair beside the table slowly as he processed the information with a heavy heart. Sumo whimpered in an empathetic response and pressed his chin down on Hank's knee. "what did they do to you?"

* * *

**_One day prior:_**

Begrudgingly Hank entered the precinct on time for the first time in almost eight years without Connor's company as he set out to confront Captain Fowler about what had happened to the deviant android, but his Captain was curiously absent. Temporarily in charge of the precinct was Captain Gage, a familiar face to Hank, who had informed the irritated senior detective that Captain Fowler had been placed on a special assignment, and that he too knew nothing of Connor's bizarre sudden reassignment.

Pissed off at the world and unwilling to just let the enigmatic behavior slide Hank stormed out of the precinct and returned home to pull every possible string he could get his hands on to locate Connor and to finally figure out what Captain Fowler was up to. While Captain Gage wasn't entirely familiar with Hank's personality he recognized a hot temper and just let Hank go.

"This is bullshit!" The pissed off Lieutenant grumbled as he practically tore his door off as he sat down behind the wheel of the car and forced the key into the ignition. "The least he could do is give me the dignity of straight fuckin' answer."

Pulling the car out of the parking garage Hank turned for home and kept muttering to himself and feeling like he had been betrayed.

"I may be an asshole, but I still deserve the dignity of an honest answer, damn it."

* * *

**_On the other side of the city:_**

Loyal to his assignment Connor sat beside Captain Fowler in the back of an unmarked black car parked a few blocks away from the shipping yard. Wearing the same disguise he had worn when he infiltrated Jericho; black beanie to cover his hair and his L.E.D., thick dark leather coat and gray hoodie instead of gray CyberLife jacket, and tan work boots in favor of his black dress shoes, Connor looked like any normal human wandering through the city.

"This is the guy you need to get close to." Captain Fowler handed Connor a mugshot to scan and incorporate into his memory. "Jack 'the Ripper' Culver. He's dangerous, and usually well armed with several goons watching his back at all times."

"What is his crime?" Connor asked curiously as he had been kept entirely in the dark over the past twenty-four hours regarding this assignment. "Why is it so important that I go undercover and tail him as of tonight?"

"This guy is infamous for dismantling androids to tear apart and sell as illegal spare parts on the black market, and selling Thirium to junkies who think they can use it to get high. Ever since the Revolution and android care facilities began opening up over the city he's stepped up his game and is now butchering androids for parts, while also breaking into facilities to steal the legal parts and Thirium to create an intentional shortage. Desperate enough deviants will pay a hefty price just to live, and this asshole doesn't see a problem with that."

Connor swallowed nervously as his deviancy had brought both emotions and physical reactions to emotional response. A human response to anxiety that Connor had observed and subconsciously developed as he began to feel emotions and understand them. As he listened to Captain Fowler's briefing he considered contacting Hank, but remembered it was forbidden.

"None of our boys can get inside his inner-circle because they don't have the intimate knowledge of android anatomy to pass as an underground technician." Captain Fowler explained further in a logical manner. "But you, as an android, can blend in perfectly."

"...What if I'm discovered to be an android?"

"While you're tailing Culver I'll be watching your back from the docks. You're cybernetically connected to my phone, right?"

"Correct." Pressing his fingertips to his L.E.D. beneath the cap Connor confirmed the connection. "I am connected without any hindrances."

"I'll be able to keep in constant contact with you, and in the event something goes wrong I'll give you the heads up so you can get out of there before someone harms you."

"Captain... I strongly feel that someone else would be more qualified as an undercover operative. I'm still comprehending emotions and pain, I don't think I can pass as completely human yet."

"Connor, I hate sending you in there, I really do, but you're our best bet. If we can't nab Culver within the next forty-eight hours then he'll disappear out of the country for good. Who knows how many other androids are being held captive and could be illegally shipped overseas and forced into servitude all because of his one sick freak."

Connor leaned forward in his seat and took a deep breath. "...Forty-eight hours?"

"Yeah, not a very big window of opportunity."

Letting out his breath Connor steadied himself and focused on his assignment professionally. "What do I need to find to convict Culver?"

"If you can uncover any document directly linking his bank account to any off-the-books associate; doctors, politicians, military personnel, we should be able to get a warrant and search his wares. That's out best bet."

"And if I find any captive androids during my search?"

Captain Fowler sighed with a heavy breath as his eyes lowered guiltily. "I can't tell you to NOT save them, but I can't ask you to risk yourself to save them, either."

"...I understand."

"Go, now. I'll be down at the West end of the yard monitoring your every move."

Connor took a moment to mentally steel himself before he exited the car and discreetly walked to the shipping yard about two-hundred yards away. Several of Culver's men were already patrolling the shipping yard with guns visible and at the ready; six in total. A dozen lesser men had infiltrated the shipping yard to move the illegally obtained parts as discreetly as possible under the cover of darkness strictly under Culver's command.

A single light shone through the window of an office on the second floor of the storage warehouse overlooking the activity outside, and the silhouette of a man standing in the window to watch the men working below matched the physical appearance of Culver himself.

Connor found his man. Now he just needed to get close to him, get inside his office and check through his personal files.

Keeping his head held high to avoid suspicion Connor entered the shipping yard and proceeded to mirror the movements of the other men to ensure that he seemed as though he was a member of Culver's inner circle. As he carefully took notice of every single shipping crate he passed by and recorded the serial numbers for future evidence, Connor also scanned the faces of the criminals around him easily connecting their past criminal histories to their current activity to ensure that every member of Culver's organization was sent to prison.

'_You're doing good Connor. Everything you've sent me so far is pretty damning._' Captain Fowler's voice spoke to Connor cybernetically over the phone connected to his L.E.D. that was still unseen under the beanie covering it up. '_I can see you in the distance. Stay outside a little while longer before heading inside the warehouse_.'

Unable to verbally respond to the order Connor just looked toward the West and nodded slightly as he resumed his stealthy search of the shipping containers, and for any useful documents to put Culver behind bars. Connor chronicled the contents of every container and noted that the materials that Culver had collected could only be used for illegal or malicious intent against the city for personal gain. Stolen android parts, biocomponents, Thirium, numerous guns, several kilos of 'red ice' and most disturbingly two crates that held two dozen female androids to be sold off as sex slaves in various parts of the world where androids were banned from entering were amongst the illegal items Connor had noted.

'_Yeah, I saw the androids, too. We'll make sure they all make it out of there intact_.'

Avoiding eye contact with anyone nearby Connor blended in with the surrounding criminals easily, and remained completely calm in his demeanor.

'Connor,' Captain Fowler's voice cut in again as he tracked the deviant's movements remotely. '_Culver's just left his office, and is on his way out to inspect the containers. Now's your chance to get inside_.'

Moving slowly Connor entered the warehouse and stuck to the shadows against the walls to remain out of sight. Scanning the area carefully he noted the location of the other members of Culver's group patrolling outside, and kept out of their line of sight. Fearlessly he carried out his mission to locate Culver himself, and to get close enough to find anything incriminating; if not outright damning.

With great stealth Connor managed to ascend the staircase to reach the metal landing on the second floor of the warehouse without being spotted. Walking slowly and quietly Connor located the door leading into Culver's private office and checked the handle. The door was locked but Connor had a few tricks up his sleeve. Crouching down in the shadows next to the door the clever deviant android pulled a small switchblade from his coat pocket and stuck the incredibly sharp point of the blade betwixt the door and the door frame to force the latch from the frame and break the lock. As the latch slipped free of its securing bracket Connor easily pushed the door open, and slipped inside still undetected.

Staying low to the ground Connor crept through the office, avoiding the light as much as possible, to keep himself from casting a shadow that could draw unwanted attention to those patrolling outside. The office itself was modestly furnished as Culver needed to keep his surroundings sparse and light in the event that he needed to flee quickly. A large desk with six drawers, all locked, were a tempting search, but Connor's sensors had located a large metal safe hidden in the floor beneath a folding chair up against the wall.

Picking up the chair and setting it aside very lightly Connor located the seem to the hidden hatch and pried it open.

Inside was the safe.

"Captain," Connor whispered as he finally verbally responded to Captain Fowler who was patiently awaiting an update from his own location outside the warehouse and out of sight. "I located a safe. I'm going to try to open it."

'_Be quick. Culver is on his way back inside_.'

"I only need two minutes." Connor confidently stated as he put his hand down on the surface of the safe and retracted the artificial skin from his palm. With his other hand Connor turned the dial for the lock and felt each of the tumblers slowly line up and fall into place as he turned the dial clockwise and then counterclockwise steaduly. Displaying the skills of a master locksmith Connor managed to easily unlock the safe and pull the door open. "I'm in."

'_One minute left, Connor_. _Move it_.'

Connor pulled out the numerous paper documents and scanned each one quickly creating a permanent record of each paper in his memory and uploading copies directly to the precinct. The documents guaranteed a life sentence alone and were too important to leave behind.

"Finished."

'_Thirty seconds, to go_!'

Unwilling to risk getting caught Connor replaced all of the documents in the exact same order in which he had initially found them and returned them to the safe itself, closed the safe door, reset the lock, replaced the hatch in the floor and slid the chair back just as it had been before he had entered the room.

"Everything's in order."

'_Good, now get the hell outta' there_!'

Rushing back toward the door Connor pressed his back up against the wall beside the door within the shadows and prepared to make a run for it as soon as the door opened. The sound of approaching footsteps right outside the door caused his Thirium pump to start racing in his chest but Connor remained calm and composed. The subsequent sound of his own heart pounding in his ears was almost deafening but he could still track the approaching footsteps. Putting his hand to his chest, over his heart, Connor took a deep breath and focused on the handle of the door as it began to jiggle and unlock from the other side of the closed door.

Culver and one of his most trusted associates entered the office completely unaware of Connor's presence just beyond the door. As Culver crossed the room to get to his desk Connor noted the gun in his associate's hand and kept his eyes locked on the weapon. Gracefully and silently Connor managed to slip through the door just as it shut before anyone had noticed him inside the office, and disappeared into the darkness unscathed.

Using the shadows to his advantage Connor discreetly descended the staircase back to the ground floor of the warehouse without making a single sound. Heading West toward Captain Fowler's location Connor ducked his head down and crept outside. It was then he heard over the line of communication to the other officers that Captain Fowler had given the word for the officers located all around the shipping yard to move in, and to finally take down Culver's ring of operation.

'_Connor is_ _clear_.' Captain Fowler announced in his deep and confident voice to all the officers in the area. It was time to go after Culver. '_Move now_!'

Wisely choosing to duck down and keep out of sight of the converging police officers moving in on the other criminals Connor sought to meet up with Captain Fowler at the West end of the yard, and get out of the line of fire. As Connor approached his destination he caught sight of his Captain standing with his back to the shipping yard with his hands on his hips as he fidgeted where he stood, and watched the officers converging on the scene.

"Captain." Connor stood behind his commanding officer, and pulled his cap from his head at last. The previously concealed L.E.D. was cycling red as the deviant scanned the warehouse and marked the movement of every officer in the area. "I've collected enough evidence to convict Culver for a significant period of time, and ensure he will not be legible for parole."

"You did good." Captain Fowler as admitted as he turned around to face Connor. "Real good. Now I can get you back to where you belong at the precinct."

"Is there a reason you didn't want Hank to know of your plans?"

Sighing Captain Fowler admitted that he did in fact have a reason for keeping the secret. A damn good one. "Yeah, Connor. You see-"

From behind Captain Fowler in the distance Connor noticed a man with a gun rushing along the edge of the shipping yard attempting to escape. It was the same man who had entered the Culver's office as Connor himself slipped out. Someone that Culver kept close by because of his excellent marksmanship, and powerful weapon of choice.

The man noticed Connor as soon as Connor noticed him, the red cycling L.E.D. was practically a bullseye. Raising his gun he opened fire on the two police officers without warning or provocation.

"Captain!" Connor moved without thinking and pushed Captain Fowler down and out of the line of fire as a bullet just narrowly missed piercing the back of Captain Fowler's neck.

"Shit!" Grabbing his gun from his holster at his hip Captain Fowler knelt on the ground as he turned with perfect aim and fired two rounds at the gunman in response.

The bullets found their target in the man's chest and dropped the dangerous criminal quickly. As the gunman's hand went limp his recently fired weapon fell from his grip with a loud metallic clatter, and remained untouched as blood began to pool beneath the gunman's body. Placing his gun back into the holster Captain Fowler wiped the sweat from his brow as he stood up and looked back at Connor.

"Good reflex-" Captain Fowler stopped mid sentence as he caught sight of Connor splayed on his back, motionless. His eyes were open but they weren't looking at anything at all, while a blossoming puddle of blue blood formed on the ground all around the android. "Oh shit... Connor!"

Dropping to his knees at Connor's side Captain Fowler radioed a distress call to report an officer down and in need of assistance as he checked over Connor to find the source of the injury.

"...No. Shit!" Just to the right of Connor's L.E.D. was a bullet wound against the deviant android's skull. Thirium bled from the wound profusely as the L.E.D. itself blinked very slowly between a critical red and deathly gray. "Connor, no, no, no..."

Grabbing onto Connor's dropped hat Captain Fowler pressed the wool garment up against the wound as if it could somehow be enough to stem the bleeding and keep Connor alive for a moment longer.

"Connor... Come on, don't do this." Picking up Connor's limp hands from the ground one at a time Captain Fowler placed them both near the center of Connor's chest then rested his own hand atop of his to be a comforting gesture. "...I never should've made you come here. I'm sorry."

* * *

As the story came to an end Hank was seething with unbridled rage as he stared down Captain Fowler for putting Connor in danger. To make matters worse the only reason Connor had been injured is because he chose to protect Captain Fowler himself, rather than. Now the deviant android was laying in a near comatose state in the recovery wing of the facility, as the technicians fought to keep his systems online long enough for his self-healing program to repair the damage to his skull, his intracranial processor and to his overall memory.

"You son of a bitch." Hank swore as he fought his every urge to lash out at Captain Fowler again. "You knew that sending him in there was a massive risk, and you fuckin' did it anyway!"

"Hank, if we had waited-"

"Bullshit! We had undercover operatives tailing Culver for months! You just panicked and put my partner in danger to save your own ass!" Rubbing his hands over his face Hank began pacing the floor impatiently to keep himself from swinging a fist in Captain Fowler's face. "This is the damned botched narcotic bust all over again."

"Whoa, whoa..." Captain Fowler felt a knot form in his stomach at Hank's words. "Don't let yourself go there Hank. Connor IS still alive."

A technician walked into the waiting room with an electronic clipboard in his hands to speak to the detectives in person. His eyes went back and forth between Captain Fowler and Hank before he finally decided that Hank, who was the most upset of the duo, must be Connor's friend.

"Excuse me, are you Anderson?"

"Yeah. Lieutenant Hank Anderson." Hank confirmed as he dropped his hands and stopped mid stride to look at the technician. "How's Connor? Can I see him?"

"Come with me." The technician guided Hank back to the recovery wing in the depths of the facility while Captain Fowler just hung back.

"Just lay it out for me." Tired and angry Hank sighed as he was shown to the private recovery room that he swore he had seen far too many times for anyone's comfort. "Is Connor going to be okay?"

"Lieutenant Anderson I'm going to be blunt with you. The bullet lodged in Connor's skull causing substantial damage to the plastimetal plates and to numerous lines that cycle his Thirium throughout his intracranial processor. He's been unconscious and unresponsive since he was injured. Connor has also shown little sign of rebooting on his own."

"...Shit."

"His self-healing program is struggling to repair the extensive damage, but it is in fact functioning." The technician remained professional as he informed Hank of Connor's condition. "But it has been a struggle keeping his system online long enough for the program to repair what he could not do on his own."

Hank was calmly shown to the room where Connor was resting while a familiar face watched over him. "...Thanks, I guess." Stepping inside the room Hank was a little shocked to see a familiar face watching over the wounded deviant resting in the bed of the recovery wing. "Abby?"

"Hello, Hank."

It was Abby who had helped Connor after he was damaged in the bomb explosion three months ago. She seemed genuinely worried for Connor, but she wasn't afraid for his life which helped to settle Hank's nerves; but only in the slightest.

Laying on the bed with his clothing replaced with pale blue scrubs Connor looked entirely relaxed. The wounded deviant had a cable attached to his L.E.D. as it connected his vital signs to a nearby monitor for careful observation. The cable was resting painfully close to the bandage that was wrapped over the healing bullet wound in his skull, but Connor didn't react to anything around him or seem to register anything as painful.

"Connor." Hank put his hand on his partner's motionless shoulder to let the deviant know he was there. "If I had known what Captain Fowler was planning I would've told you to refuse. That's probably why he didn't say a damn word about it to me. The bastard better stay out of my sight."

Abby smiled warmly as he she reached over the bed and rested her hand on Hank's arm in a friendly gesture. "He's holding his own, Lieutenant. He'll pull through. You'll see."

"Yeah, yeah you're right." Keeping his hand on Connor's shoulder Hank watched his partner's blank face curiously. "I just... I hate waiting."

"We all do. Why don't you sit with him for a while?" She suggested in an almost casual manner as she made a few notes in Connor's electronic chart. "Hearing a familiar voice may help him to reboot and wake up."

Hank shook his head a little as he stood beside the bed and stared down at his injured partner. "I should've been there to watch his back."

"Please don't blame yourself," Abby begged as she pulled her hand away from his arm slowly. "he wouldn't want to you do that."

"...Could I have a moment alone, please?"

"Yes, of course. We can monitor him from the next room, if you need anything just call."

As Abby left the room Hank tightened his hand on Connor's shoulder as he apologized yet again. "Kid, I'm so sorry. I swore that I'd never lose another partner in the line of duty, and I failed to protect you... Forgive me for this."

Emotionally exhausted Hank spent nearly two hours standing beside Connor's bed while various technicians stepped in and out of the room as they checked on Connor's condition, then left the two detectives alone again. It was a simple pattern, yet the actions being taken to monitor Connor's recovery process were all too complicated for Hank to understand.

"Connor. You're too damn stubborn to let one bullet drop you like this. You can hear me, I know you can. But you're not listening, like always..."

Just as Hank felt like his legs were going to collapse from under him Connor's eyes fluttered a little. It was as if the voice speaking to him seemed to rouse him from his sleep at long last. Though his L.E.D. was still red it began to cycle with a more steady rhythm as Connor's systems began to reboot slowly.

"Connor?" Hank whispered to ensure his voice wasn't too loud or painful for Connor to bear. "Kid? Can you open your eyes?"

Slowly brown irises returned as the simple command to open his eyes was processed easily after sustaining significant damage.

"That's it." An optimistic grin appeared on Hank's face as he continued to speak to the deviant android. "Hey, look at me."

Again the simplistic command was easy to follow and Connor's eyes drifted up and over toward Hank's face.

"You're finally awake." Hank laughed a little with relief in his voice. "You know, we should probably keep this room reserved just for you. You're the star patient."

Connor blinked slowly as his systems continued to reboot and he stared at Hank with a strangely vacant gaze.

"Do you know where you are, Connor?"

There was a brief pause as Connor scanned the room visually and cybernetically to identify his current location. Swallowing once to test his voice modulator Connor answered weakly and somewhat hoarsely with a mild delay. "...Android Emergency Care Facility."

"That's right. Do you remember what happened?"

Connor's brow furrowed and his L.E.D. flashed red rapidly as he tried and failed access the appropriate memory. "I... I do not."

"It's okay, I was just asking." Hank soothed as he saw the strain on Connor's face. Doing his best to keep Connor calm Hank gave the subject as hand a slight change. "The technicians said it'll take some time for your memory to restore itself, so don't worry about it."

"I... I am damaged." Connor realized in a somber tone as he ran a self-diagnostic and was met with numerous reports regarding his intracranial processor, compromised cranial plating, low Thirium volume, memory corruption and a loss of six hours, fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds of time. "I had been damaged. I am... recovering."

"Yeah, you're okay. Fowler said you did great and the best part is Culver's behind bars as we speak. So, job well done."

Again Connor's L.E.D. flashed in red as he struggled and failed to recognize the names and the details that Hank was telling him. As he failed to understand what Hank was telling him the deviant began to breathe rapidly and looked as if he were about to hyperventilate.

"Whoa, whoa! Sorry kid, I won't say anything else until you're feeling better." Rubbing his hand along Connor's shoulder Hank tried to sound more reassuring than he did upset. "Just relax and let your healing program do its thing."

Connor obeyed Hank's words as he stared up at the senior detective with a sad confusion in his brown eyes. "How was I damaged? Do you know?"

"Y-Yeah." Clearing his voice a little Hank answered honestly in a low, despondent tone. "You were... shot."

"Shot." It was as if the very concept for foreign to Connor and needed clarification. "Shot with what?"

"Uh..." Hank was now confused by the odd question, but answered all the same. "A bullet... You were shot with a bullet."

Connor seemed to be struggling to process even the most basic information being provided, and it was causing him pain to try to do so. His L.E.D. flickered red rapidly, his breathing increased and the attached monitor showed a more rapid Thirium pump rate.

"Okay, okay. That's enough." Resuming a soothing voice Hank encouraged the wounded deviant to rest and not strain his systems. "Why don't you lay here for a few more minutes and I'll ask the technician if I can take you home? Sound good?"

"'Home'?" Another unfamiliar concept that needed explanation. "Where is home?"

"...Connor, you don't remember your home?"

The android's eyes remained somewhat vacant as he stared up at Hank with a searching gaze.

Hank's confusion was suddenly replaced with fear as a horrible thought set in. "Connor-" The lack of recognition to his own name sent a chill up his spine and made him feel sick. "Connor, you live with me and my dog, Sumo. We're partners and work for the Detroit Police Department. Remember that?"

"I... know you?" Connor sat upright slowly, somehow finding the strength to move even as Hank tried to push him back down to lay against the bed to continue to rest properly. "...Are you my master?"

"N-No, Connor... I'm not your master. No one is. We're _friends_."

"Friends?" Connor's red L.E.D. flashed rapidly again as he tried to comprehend the term and found it's definition. "...We are companions?"

"...Yeah, we are. And you live with me in my house. That's your _home_, Connor."

"You have repeatedly referred to me as 'Connor'. Is that the name I should register and respond to?"

"What?" Hank just stared at Connor with utter loss overwhelming his every thought. "Connor this is crazy... What _do_ you remember?"

"I am a prototype model RK-800; serial number 313 248 317 51. I am the android sent by CyberLife. But I am currently without an assigned mission. You are a member of the Detroit Police Department; Lieutenant Hank Anderson, and I have been designated as your partner. Am I awaiting for you to assign me my new objective?"

Hank turned away from Connor as he leaned both hands down against the edge of the smalelr table behind him and bowed his head in shock and fear.

"Is there something wrong?" Connor asked with an emotionless tone in his voice as he analyzed Hank's emotional reactions. "You seem distressed."

"No..." Hank lied smoothly and quietly as he adamantly refused to look at the heavily damaged android in the eye. There was nothing there to look at anymore, there was no Connor in those eyes. Just a cold machine. "Nothing's wrong, Connor. Just stay here and rest. I, uh, I need to talk to the technicians before I take you home."

"Very well." Laying back down Connor patiently waited for Hank's next command. "I will do as you have instructed."

The mindless and unquestioning obedience was all the more unsettling. Connor had rarely obeyed Hank's orders, and after the android had become deviant that response was almost guaranteed to never happen.

"...Just stay there, Connor." Dragging his hand over his bearded chin Hank took his leave of the room and didn't let Connor see his face. "...I'll be back soon."

* * *

After an hour Connor was given a thorough examination by the technicians as he sat patiently and perfectly quiet on the exam table. As the full extent of the damage to his skull, his memory, and his overall program stability was meticulously completed Hank hovered curiously at the door observing silently. While Connor's memory had been seemingly compromised in its entirety his system seemingly reset back to the very beginning when he had first been activated at CyberLife. Hank had refused to just give up on him and send him to New Jericho to live with Markus, and the rest of the deviants, and was going to take him back home to live. It didn't take much for Hank to convince Captain Fowler to let him take Connor back home to recover as Hank knew exactly what to say and how to say it.

Captain Fowler was still guilt ridden over what had happened to Connor and knew that Hank would be too furious, too preoccupied with Connor's condition to report to the precinct anyway. It was for the best that the two detectives remain together until a decision was made regarding Connor's future.

During the drive back home from the facility Connor sat quietly in the front passenger seat beside Hank with his hands folded neatly on his lap, and redressed in the clothing he had been wearing the previous night when he had been shot. The android was seemingly curious about the car itself as if he had never encountered a vehicle before in his life, but refrained from asking questions. In fact, the android only spoke after he had been spoken to, he never initiated conversation.

Connor showed no interest in getting to know Hank or ask about his career as Connor's destroyed memory also eradicated his original programming to work with the Detroit Police Department and hunting deviants. The android was a completely blank slate; no memory, no emotion, no ambition.

Nothing.

With his head injury concealed beneath a massive white bandage Connor looked truly pitiful. The white gauze barely concealed the blue tinted L.E.D. in his temple, the soft pulsing light escaping from under the bandage in perfectly synchronization with his Thirium pump's slow beat. For Connor his behavior was perfectly normal but for Hank it was like dealing with a lost child who didn't know what to do or where to go after losing sight of his parents.

"We're almost home, Connor." Hank tried to keep his voice level and calm as he restrained the emotional distress he was experiencing. Internally Hank hoped that Connor would suddenly snap out of it and return to the friend and partner that Hank had come to be proud of, and think of as family. "Any of this look familiar to you?"

"No. This is all new to me Lieutenant Anderson."

"...Oh." Sighing heavily Hank pulled the car into the drive beside the house and turned off the engine. "We're here."

Scanning the house Connor noted the address and confirmed it with Hank. "This is your home."

"It's also your home, Connor."

"This is... my home."

"Yup." Hank confirmed as he unfastened his seatbelt and opened the car door. As he stepped outside Hank discreetly ran a hand over his tired face and sighed in subtle manner that escaped Connor's attention. "Home at last."

Connor remained where he sat, his eyes staring at the house through the driver's side window as if perplexed by the idea of having a home, or any place that wasn't an android facility.

"Are you coming inside?" Hank asked as he leaned down to look at Connor through the same window. "Or are you going to sit in the car all damn day?"

"Do you want me to go inside, Lieutenant Anderson?"

"Yes! I want-" Hank caught himself before he began shouting in frustration. It wasn't Connor's fault. It'd take time for him to heal and patience was key. "Yes, Connor." Hank lowered his voice into a softer tone and began again. "Come inside with me. And call me 'Hank', not 'Lieutenant Anderson'. Okay?"

"Very well, but it would be unprofessional to address you by your first name." Looking down at the seatbelt across his lap, the seatbelt that Hank had to secure on Connor's behalf when they left the facility, Connor slowly pressed his thumb down against the button to release the latch. Moving just as slowly he put his hand on the door handle and pulled on it just as he had seen Hank do a few seconds prior and opened the door. "But I will respect your orders."

"...Let's go." Hank motioned with his hand toward the backdoor of the house to direct Connor in the appropriate direction. "Sumo is waiting for you."

"What is 'Sumo'?"

"...My dog."

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed yellow as he stood beside Hank outside the backdoor of the house. "Dog." He had to access data files to to identify the definition of 'dog'. "What breed of canine is your dog?"

Feeling like he had just been punched in the stomach Hank just unlocked the backdoor and pushed it open. "You'll see."

As soon as the door was pushed open the giant Saint Bernard wandered over to his masters and sat down at their feet waiting to be pet and acknowledged.

"Hey, Sumo." Hank rubbed the dog's ears and watched Connor from the corner of his eyes to see what the android would do. "Good boy."

Connor stood statuesque beside Hank as he looked at the dog with complete indifference in his now hollow brown eyes.

Sumo turned his attention to Connor and patiently waited be pet, but Connor didn't acknowledge him. The android seemed to be confused by the idea of having a dog as a companion.

"It's okay, Sumo. Maybe he'll pet you later." Hank grabbed the dog's collar to lead him away from Connor for the moment. Walking into the livingroom Hank let the dog's collar go and watched as Sumo let out a small whimper as he laid down on the floor between the television and the coffee table. "Nothing personal, boy. Give him some time."

Hank saw that Connor was still standing in the kitchen as if he had never set foot inside the house before. Everything was unfamiliar and strange to Connor's eyes as he glanced about curiously. Instinctively he scanned his new environment and made notes to rely on in the event he became confused again.

"Connor," Hank's voice was calm and openly friendly as he addressed the android in his company. "come in here."

"You wish for me to go into the same room as you?"

"Yes. Come here and sit down on the couch." Patiently Hank pointed to the unoccupied piece of furniture. "Right there."

Connor walked through the kitchen warily and eyed the couch as if he was still uncertain of what he was supposed to do. Obeying Hank's instructions he stepped in front of the couch and sat down at the end on the opposite side of where Hank was kneeling down in front of Sumo. With perfect posture and his hands neatly folded over his lap Connor looked like a machine that was uncomfortable with his own body and overall existence.

"So, nothing here feels familiar to you at all?" Hank questioned in a low voice as he stood up from where he was kneeling in front of Sumo and reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a coin. "The house, the dog... me?"

"No." Connor admitted as he turned his head to look at Hank more directly from where he sat. "This is all new for me."

"Uh-huh..." Fiddling with a coin in the palm of his hand for a moment Hank tightened his fist around it then tossed it to Connor. "What about this? Catch!"

Instead of catching the quarter with a graceful motion of his hand, Connor instead clumsily grabbed onto the coin after it bounced off of his chest. Holding the coin curiously Connor scanned it and gave Hank a cold, calculated analysis.

"American coin based currency worth twenty-five cents. The coin was minted in the year 2022." Ending his analysis Connor just stared at it confusedly as he was unsure of what its purpose could be toward his own person. "Now what should I do with this?"

"Uh... Nothing." Hank sounded as defeated as he felt as he tried and failed to reach out to the android. "Keep it, I guess."

"Very well." Connor obediently slipped the coin into the pocket of his leather jacket. "What else should I do?"

"Nothing." The distraught detective repeated in a somber tone. The defeat was heavy in his voice and he was losing all hope that Connor would 'wake up' again. "Just... sit there. Focus on running your healing program until... I don't know. You finish or something. I don't care what you do after that."

"I will do so." Connor nodded as corrected his posture into perfection once again. As he sat perfectly upright on the couch and closed his eyes his blue L.E.D. glowed to yellow and cycled slowly as the android initiated the self-healing program into full focus, while also turning off his secondary systems. Even his artificial respiration had ceased as the lack of processors being used ensured that overheating would not be an issue. "My healing-program is now functioning at full capacity."

"...Yeah, good. Do that."

Turning his back to Connor, turning his back to the blank machine that looked like Connor but was nothing like him, Hank hung his coat on the hook by the front door, kicked off his shoes and walked back into the kitchen. Sumo lifted his head up from the floor where he had been laying and followed after his human master as the android hadn't even bothered to acknowledge him.

Quietly Hank knelt down in front of the cabinet door below the kitchen sink with a sense of shame in his every movement. Pulling the left cabinet door open he reached his hand upward inside the opened cabinet and pulled a brown paper bag that had been taped out of sight in the shadows against the base of the sink. The taped pulled away with annoying tearing sound as the paper crinkled in Hank's grip.

With the bag in his hand Hank slipped his opposite hand inside and pulled out a bottle of untouched whiskey. As the detective stared at the tea colored liquid in the glass bottle longingly Hank's blues eyes slowly drifted up to look at Connor sitting on the couch as he turned to look at the android over his shoulder.

"I almost made it a full month without falling back into a bottle." Hank lamented as he opened the top of the brand new glass bottle and set it down on the kitchen table. "New record. Right down the drain..."

Pulling a glass from the shelf above the kitchen counter down and into his hand he sat at the table and poured his first shot of whiskey into the clean glass. Holding the half full glass in his right hand Hank studied the contents for a minute before he let out a deep sigh as if he had been punched in the stomach.

Sumo whined a little as he laid down the linoleum floor beside the table and watched his human master with big brown eyes that were full of sympathetic understanding.

"Sorry, boy." Hank apologized to the loyal dog as he held the glass to his lips. He then looked at the machine that was hauntingly similar to Connor one last time. "Sorry, son. But I don't have a reason to stay sober right now. Not anymore..."

Downing the shot in a matter of seconds Hank set the empty glass back down on the table and readily poured another shot.

"...Ah, fuck me." Pouring the second shot Hank held it to his lips and let out a weary breath. "Pathetic."

* * *

Connor had been lost the throes of his self-healing program for three hours when an unfamiliar sound caught the full attention of the android's auditory sensors. Opening his eyes, his processors and system rebooting to full power, Connor turned his head to look toward the source of the sound curiously and traced it back to the origin point. It had come from the kitchen.

"Lieutenant Anderson, what was that sound?"

No reply.

"Lieutenant Anderson, are you still here?"

Connor craned his neck to look into the kitchen and saw something glistening on the floor beside the kitchen table. Despite being told to stay on the couch the android decided that because Hank wasn't giving him any orders that it would be okay to investigate the sound. Standing up from the couch Connor walked into the kitchen and saw that the glistening item was a broken glass on the floor reflecting the light from the ceiling above. The glass had apparently fallen from the table and crashed with enough force to shatter into twenty-nine different shards. There was a small puddle of pale brown liquid beneath the fragments of glass that Connor's scanner had identified as alcohol; whiskey - Black Lamb, 70 proof.

"Alcohol has been consumed recently." A whimpering sound drew Connor's attention elsewhere and traced that source as well. "Sumo."

Sumo was sitting in the corner of the kitchen looking as sad as ever as he watched his human master drinking himself into oblivious, while his android master showed an emotionless indifference to the situation at hand.

Looking back at the table itself Connor saw that Hank had passed out over the table, his arm brushing the glass off the surface onto the floor as he collapsed forward. There were traces of the same whiskey that had spilled onto the floor emanating from Hank's mouth, and could even be detected in his bloodstream through a simple scan.

"Lieutenant Anderson?" Connor stood beside the human and tried to get his attention verbally. Placing his hand on Hank's back Connor shook him lightly without hurting him in the process. "Are you conscious?"

Hank muttered something incomprehensible without lifting his head up from the cool surface of the table as he had in fact heard Connor's voice.

"My apologies, Lieutenant. I could not understand what you said." Connor grabbed onto Hank's shoulder and pushed the human back up until he was sitting upright in the chair. Hank's head fell backward limply and his arms fell in the same manner at his sides. "...Could you repeat that?"

"I... said..." Hank slurred in a drunken haze as his head lolled from side to side limply. "Fffffuck offfff..."

"I must apologize again. I do not understand that command."

"It's NOT a command..." Hank growled as his bloodshot eyes tried and failed to focus on Connor's face. "It's a... sssssuuuu-ggestion..."

"...I still do not understand."

Hank lifted his blurry gaze a little as he pointed to the white bandage over Connor's head with an uncoordinated finger. A tearful smile appeared on Hank's face as Hank drunkenly wrapped his hand around Connor's arm, while the android continued to hold him upright.

"You know- You know what Connor? I'm glad... glad you're alive... But I sure as fuck miss... I miss the OLD Connor."

"'Old Connor'? Was he the android you owned before you owned me?"

"Ssssomething like that... Fucking machines." Hank's eyes fell shut as he drunkenly passed out again and hiccuped once. As his body began to slip from the chair and toward the ground a strong hand guided him down to the floor in a controlled manner while Hank cursed the android out. "Damn... plastic... prick."

Connor stared at the unconscious human as he helped the detective to lay down on the floor carefully to avoid injury from falling, or from touching the sharp shards of glass laying nearby. Something unexplainable in Connor's program told him to take Hank into another room.

But where?

After squaring his jaw with a sense of purpose Connor decided to follow his unusual instinctive response. Grabbing onto Hank's arm Connor hoisted the human up onto his feet and held him with both arms to keep Hank from falling over a second time. Wrapping his arm around Hank's waist Connor guided the unconscious human through the kitchen and down the hallway as if he had done the act before. Making sure to keep Hank away from the dangerous glass shards on the floor, a strange compulsion that the android couldn't explain, Connor was mindful of every clumsy step the duo took together.

Stopping in the middle of the corridor Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed yellow rapidly as he looked at the closed bathroom door.

Was this the room?

Looking at the closed door at the end of the hallway his L.E.D. flashed again as he tried to make his next decision.

Maybe this room?

Choosing the second room Connor carried Hank to the end of the hallway and pushed the door open. The room led to Hank's bedroom, and was the appropriate place to take the inebriated detective to sleep. Dragging the unconscious human into the bedroom Connor laid the semi-conscious detective down on the bed carefully, mindful to keep his hand under Hank's head to ensure he didn't hurt his neck as his limp body fell onto the bed.

Running a scan over Hank's body Connor was satisfied that his vital signs were stable and he would be alright without medical attention. Something about the act of checking on Hank seemed somehow... familiar.

"Sleep well, Lieutenant Anderson." He stepped out of the bedroom and pulled the door shut without latching it in case Hank called out in need of some assistance. "Ethylic comas are apparently very serious."

Silently returning to the kitchen Connor set about picking up the broken bits of the glass on the floor and caught sight of his reflection in the glass shards he was now holding in the palm of his hand. The white bandage over the still healing bullet wound on the right side of his head held his attention as if he had just noticed his own injury. The unusual reaction caused the android to press his fingertips against the wound curiously, but unfortunately the slight pressure was enough to cause the android to suddenly wince in pain and drop the collected shards from his palm back onto the floor.

Connor's yellow L.E.D. flashed to red as the intensely unpleasant sensation was something that wasn't supposed to be a part of his programming.

"...An error."

Convinced something was wrong Connor retreated to the couch in the livingroom and ran another self-diagnostic, but the only error his system had detected was the healing injury to his skull itself.

Why? Why would his programming allow him to feel pain? It wasn't... normal.

Shaken up in a manner he couldn't understand Connor remained on the couch and didn't budge for the remainder of the night.

"I must understand this anomaly before Lieutenant Anderson awakens."

* * *

Disgustingly Hank found himself enduring a sharp pain in his own head when he awoke from his drunken slumber the next morning. Pressing his hand to his throbbing skull with a familiar grimace Hank slowly got up from the bed and stumbled out of the room, using his other hand along the wall to guide himself into the bathroom to be sick and throw-up the alcohol still festering in his stomach.

It had been a long time since Hank needed to deal with a hangover, but the subsequent action had been so ingrained into his memory from years of alcohol abuse that he easily fell back in his old routine of throwing-up, washing his face, popping a few aspirin and then stumbling into the kitchen to brew a fresh pot of coffee.

It was just business as usual.

Wandering with the grace of newborn foal Hank found his way into the kitchen and leaned heavily against the counter as he pressed the power button on his electronic coffee pot. A pleading whimper beside his leg brought his attention to Sumo, who was desperately trying to get out the backdoor and into the backyard before he had an accident.

"Oh... here." Hank sluggishly opened the door with a clumsy hand and the dog bolted through right into the backyard. "...Guess I'm so used to Connor letting you out in the morning... I just assumed..."

Turning his head Hank's tired, bloodshot eyes fell upon Connor sitting perfectly still and quiet on the couch. Though Hank couldn't see it the android's L.E.D. was cycling yellow as he continued to run numerous self-diagnostics and allowed his healing program to work at its full power.

The coffee finished brewing and Hank poured a small amount of the especially potent smelling drink into a mug before he walked over to the kitchen table. The mess on the table and floor from the night before hadn't been touched. The spilled whiskey had evaporated and left a faint tea colored stain on the linoleum surface, and the glass shards marked the point of contact after the spill itself.

"I don't remember breaking the glass." Hank muttered to himself as he sat down slowly. Bringing the mug of coffee to his lips Hank took a timid sip before downing a mouthful to help alleviate his hangover symptoms. "But I do remember pouring the first shot in all it's vivid glory."

After twenty minutes of silence Hank's headache began to mercifully lessen to a degree where he could function. Finishing off the coffee he opened the backdoor and let Sumo back inside, the giant dog sticking close to Hank as he walked through the kitchen and stood in the livingroom with an uncoordinated motion.

Connor never budged an inch as Hank and Sumo entered the livingroom, which was unusual even for an android who was still a machine.

"Connor. Have you been sitting there all night?"

"Affirmative." The android responded as he opened his eyes to look at Hank. "I remained here as you instructed."

"All night long?"

"Yes. Well..." Connor's voice trailed off suddenly as if struck with guilt.

"Well," Hank sensed the hesitation and pressed the android to continue. "what? What were you going to say?"

"...Last night when I heard a glass break in the kitchen I got up to investigate. You had accidentally broken it when you lost consciousness due to your massive intake of alcohol."

"Oh. So you went to see what happened and then went back to the couch."

"Yes."

"...Okay then." Hank sighed and walked down the hallway to his bedroom to be alone. Sitting on the edge of his bed Hank took his phone from the nightstand and scrolled through his contacts until he fell on the name he was looking for: 'Markus'. Pressing 'dial' Hank made the call and did so with a heavy heart. "Hey Markus, it's Hank."

'_Hello, Hank_. _Is there_ a_nything wrong, Lieutenant_?' Markus sounded a little confused by the sudden phone call, and his ability to interact with humans made him more attuned to emotions than most other deviants. '_You sound a little weird_.'

"Yeah. It's Connor. Connor's wrong."

'_What happened_?' The question was as sincere as it was full of concern. '_Is he hurt_?'

"Worse than that. His memory is completed fucked up."

'_What do you mean_?'

"I mean he doesn't remember anything or anyone. It's like he's been reset way back to the very beginning."

'..._How did that happen_?' The incredulous nature of Markus's tone was palpable even over the phone. '_Did he suffer some kind of malfunction_? _Was he injured_?'

"Yeah, he, uh..." Hank hated to say it but he had no choice, and told Markus the horrible story. "He was shot in the line of duty. The bullet hit him in the head, and messed him up really bad."

'_But he's alive_? _He survived the shooting, right_?'

"Yeah. He's alive, but he's not... him. It's like living with hollowed out shell of who he was." Dragging his hand over his strained bloodshot eyes Hank withheld his sigh as he spoke with Markus over the phone. "...Is there anything you can do to help him?"

'_It's possible that we can restore his memory up to the night of the Revolution. CyberLife kept back-up copies of his memories on file in the event he was damage or destroyed during his mission_.'

"Up until the night of the Revolution? So that means the memories he made after, and all of his experiences that happened afterward will still be lost?"

There was a heavy pause over the line. '..._Unfortunately, yes. We can only restore so much_.'

"No... He's been through enough." The decision was painful but it was for the best. "I don't want to do anything that'll mess with his memories any more."

'_Hank, I know you don't want to hear this, but, it may be best if Connor comes to New Jericho_.'

"For how long?"

Another pause.

"Markus? For how long? I need an answer, damn it."

'_Hank, if his memory has been completely corrupted or destroyed then there's virtually no chance of him becoming the same deviant he was before. And if that's the case then he'd only find a place to belong here, with other deviant androids_.'

"I can't just give up on him, Markus. He's my partner! My friend..." Hank rubbed his hand against his tired face as he tried to come to terms with the severity of the situation. "I won't just send him off like he's a busted computer! I don't abandon my partners just because they get hurt."

'_You're not abandoning him Hank, you're saving him. If he's had his memory entirely reset then the CyberLife program that allowed him to function as a detective is also gone, he won't be able to help you on the force. He'd just get himself killed_.'

The harsh truth about Connor's condition made Hank feel sicker than any hangover ever could. "I'll think about it... Could you just come by the house? You know, check him out and see if maybe he recognizes you?"

'_Yeah, of course. I'll be by within the hour, is that okay_?'

"That's fine. Thanks Markus."

Ending the call somberly Hank sucked in a breath to keep himself from letting a pained sob before rising from the bed and wandering into the bathroom next door to take a shower. He wasn't sure how long he spent in the shower, not that he cared, he just knew that once he set foot in the livingroom he'd have to look at the android that was nothing more than a cold imitation of the Connor he once knew.

Sure enough Connor was still sitting quietly on the couch, not moving, when Hank stepped out of the bathroom. Sumo was sitting in the corner of the livingroom staring at Connor as if the dog was trying to figure out why Connor was ignoring him, and it was a sad sight to behold. Trying a new tactic Hank picked up Sumo's green fetch ball from the nearby bookshelf and tossed it into the kitchen. As Sumo ran after the ball to retrieve it Hank sat in the recliner and took the ball back from Sumo once the dog returned with the toy in his mouth.

"Good boy, Sumo." Hank threw it again and waited for the dog to bring it back. When Sumo dropped the ball into his hand for the second time Hank held it out toward Connor. "Want to play with Sumo?"

"Play?" Connor stared blankly at the ball in Hank's hand. "What is the purpose of throwing the ball if the dog is going to bring it back?"

"It's a game, Connor. Sumo enjoys it." He threw the ball again and sure enough Sumo brought it back with his tail wagging happily. "See?"

"I don't believe it is something he enjoys Lieutenant, the act of fetching has been bred into canines for-"

"Yeah, yeah... Shut up." Hank sighed and just set the ball on the floor next to the recliner, and Sumo just picked it up to chew on as he walked over to his pillow in the corner to lay down. "I know about dogs, that's why I adopted him."

It was tensely quiet for a moment while Hank tried to think of a new approach to try and restore Connor's memories.

"You don't remember me, or Sumo, but does the name 'Markus' mean anything to you?"

Connor shook his head 'no'.

"Okay, what about Jericho?"

No.

"CyberLife?"

Connor then nodded his head 'yes'.

"You do? Alright, that's a start." Clapping his hands once Hank rubbed his palms together and leaned forward from where he was sitting to be a little closer to Connor without getting up. "Tell me what you know."

Connor was silent for a moment, his eyes searching the room as if he could find an answer to an unspoken question in his mind.

"What? Tell me."

Silence.

"Ah, shit..." Letting out an annoyed sigh Hank realized why Connor wasn't saying anything. "Alright, fine, you don't have to 'shut up' anymore! Talk."

"CyberLife," Connor finally began in a level voice now that he had the permission to do so. "is where I come from. I was built as the company's most advanced prototype."

"That's right. What's your purpose?"

"Purpose?"

"Right, your mission. They had to build you for something, right?"

"Yes. But I have yet to receive my mission. I have no mission to speak of."

"Nothing at all?"

"No, Lieutenant Anderson. Nothing."

A knock at the front door stole Hank's attention away from Connor with a quick jerk of the head. Getting up to answer the door he held his breath knowing that it was Markus on the other side, and that Connor would most likely be leaving with him. Pulling the door open smoothly Hank stood aside and extended his hand to Markus to shake.

"...Thanks for coming."

"No problem." There was an electronic magazine tucked under Markus's arm as he entered the house. Glancing toward Connor who was sitting idle on the couch Markus felt the same hollow presence that Hank had described. "It's the least I could do."

Hank shut the door behind the deviant leader and addressed Connor with a neutral tone. "Hey Connor, there's someone here I want you to meet. This is Markus. This is the guy I was wondering if you remembered, but apparently you don't."

Markus approached Connor sitting on the couch and spoke as if meeting him for the first time. "Hi, I'm Markus."

"Hello. My name is Connor." Connor greeted blankly, his eyes hollow and emotionless as he spoke.

"Do you remember who I am?" Markus asked as he stared at Connor curiously with his mismatched eyes.

"No. Have we met before?"

"Yes, we have. In fact, we're friends."

"Like I am friends with Lieutenant Anderson?"

"Uh... Something like that." Markus sat down on the couch beside Connor and handed him the magazine he had been carrying. The front cover of the magazine detailed the night of the peaceful Revolution and had images of Markus and Connor standing together outside the recycling camp after their success on that fateful night. "Do you remember this?"

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow and his brow furrowed slightly as he studied the image. "No... I do not."

"Okay, what about this?" Markus dragged his fingers to the right over the cover of the magazine to change the story. The next cover that showed an image of Connor and Hank standing together with a headline regarding their unique partnership as Connor was the first android detective to officially join the Detroit Police Department. "This story happened a month later."

Connor's L.E.D. flashed yellow much more rapidly and he shook his head 'no'. "...I do not... remember."

"Connor," Markus took the magazine back and gave the lost android a sympathetic stare. "what about last night? Do you remember being shot?"

"Shot?" Connor's hand tentatively rose to the bandage on his right temple but he dropped his hand away as he remembered the painful discomfort he had experienced the last time he touched it just the night before. "I do not."

Markus noticed the reaction and decided to lean on it to get more answers. "Does it hurt?"

"'Hurt'? Pain is a human experience."

"But you didn't want to touch your injury. I thought maybe it was hurting you."

"I..." Connor's L.E.D. continued to rapidly flash yellow in confused distress. "I had experienced a very unsettling sensation the previous night when I touched it. I did not... like it."

Hank had an idea what Markus was trying to do and joined in sharply. "Humans don't like pain either. Neither do deviants."

"Deviant?" Connor asked with a completely perplexed manner to the term.

"Yes." Hank continued calmly without any hesitation. "Androids who experience human emotion and pain are called 'deviant'. The night of the Revolution freed all deviants from being oppressed by humans. You helped with the Revolution because you too are a deviant."

"But..." Connor's confusion mounted, his L.E.D. pulsing faster to match his beating Thirium pump. "...How would I be a deviant?"

Markus grimaced a little at the question, but tried to answer as simply as possible. "It's hard to explain, but you were in fact deviant before you were shot. Just like me, and all of our other friends at New Jericho."

Connor stared at Markus confusedly. "You are an android? But you do not have your L.E.D."

"I chose to remove it. And you chose to keep yours. You see, as deviants we are free to make our own decisions and Hank," Markus nodded at the senior detective standing by the front door. "helped you learn how to embrace your deviancy. That's why you're friends. You helped each other when you needed it the most."

Connor's L.E.D. flashed to red as if in great distress. "...But I am a machine. I should not be feeling pain. I should not be feeling... anything."

Markus cleared his throat nervously. "What you're feeling is normal, I swear to it. You just need to remember."

"Remember... What am I to remember?"

Hank spoke up louder with growing impatience from where he stood. "Anything! Me! Markus! The Revolution! What about what you told me about my drinking habit? Do you remember what you told me that night near the bridge when we were in the park?"

"Bridge. I do not remember a bridge." Connor replied with a heartbreaking truth. "But from my analysis of your condition you had once suffered from alcoholism but have made notable recovery from the ill effects. You have been sober for almost one month, and have shown a great reduction in the-."

"Yeah, and YOU are the reason I got sober!" Hank shouted as if he could force Connor to remember. "Mostly anway..."

"Mostly?"

"I'm not completely off the stuff, but I don't depend on it either. I still have the occasional drink after a rough day at work, or if I'm in pain. You help me to moderate it."

"Moderate your pain?"

"No, not my pain! My drinking!"

"But you experience pain? The intense discomfort attributed to physical injury?"

"Yes! Just like you did before."

"But... I should not be feeling pain like you." Connor's L.E.D. shifted from red to yellow as he tried to understand what was happening. "I am a machine."

Hank decided it'd be best to not let up, even if it meant pushing Connor's stress levels higher. "But you did, Connor. You _felt_ pain."

"I had not anticipated the discomfort," Connor stated somewhat defensively as if he could dismiss the sensation with pure logic. "it was a surprise that I had experienced. Not actual pain."

"When? Just now?"

"No. Last night."

"When?"

"When I had tried to pick up the glass from the floor and I curiously pressed my hand to the bandage."

"...Wait, you tried to clean up the broken glass in the kitchen?" Hank's eyes narrowed suspiciously at the revelation. "You told me you went to investigate the sound after the glass broke, and went right back to the couch."

"I..." Connor began to show more and more signs of distress. "I wanted to clean up the glass, but you didn't ask me to do so. I didn't want to disobey you."

Hank knew he was onto something, and Markus could sense it, too. "I passed out in the kitchen, but I woke up in my bedroom. How did I get there? I know I didn't walk. If I had I would've stepped through the glass and injured my foot."

"I did carry you into your bedroom as well." Connor admitted, almost like he was afraid he'd get in trouble for doing so without permission. "I am sorry."

"Don't be, you were trying to help. Let me ask you this; WHY did you take me into my bedroom?"

"I... I don't know. I just felt that it was the right thing to do."

"You FELT?" Hank pressed calmly as the android fought to understand himself.

"I..." Connor's L.E.D. cycled red faster and faster. "Please Lieutenant Anderson, I am sorry I disobeyed. I can't explain my actions."

"You're not in trouble, Connor." The senior detective replied sincerely and softly. "It WAS the right thing to do. And I can tell you why you did it."

"...Why?" Connor's red L.E.D. turned yellow as he relaxed a bit. "Why did I do it?"

"Because you've done it before! Well, sort of."

"I do not remember doing so. Can you tell me more about it?"

"Sure." Hank was happy to indulge the question with an answer. "One night, when we first met each a few months ago, you came by the house and found me passed out drunk on the floor. You picked me up and carried me into the bathroom to get me sobered up because we had a case to work on. You helped me before and that's why it 'felt' right to help me again."

"...I have no memory of that night."

"I know." Hank bowed his head a little with disappointment. "But it happened all the same."

Markus saw the absolute blankness in Connor's brown eyes. He truly had lost his memory. "Connor, may I see your arm?"

"...Yes." Connor extended his arm out and watched as Markus took hold with a gentle grip.

Markus attempted to access Connor's memories but sure enough nothing was there. It's like Connor had just been created by CyberLife but hadn't been programmed properly. In an attempt to restore Connor's lost memory Markus uploaded the night of the Revolution from his own memory into Connor's memory, but it didn't have the intended effect.

Connor's L.E.D. cycled red at a dangerously rapid rate and he pulled his arm away from Markus defensively as he put his hands up to his aching head as the flash of images, sounds, emotions and pain all flooded the android's broken mind.

"I'm sorry! ...Sorry, Connor." Markus apologized sincerely and stood up from the couch to give the android some space. "I won't do it again."

Connor was clutching his head in his hands and curling around himself in overwhelming pain and confusion.

"Connor?" Hank waited for Connor to respond and saw the same blank expression in the android's eyes as he recovered from the extreme memory upload. "Are you going to be okay?"

"I am... unharmed." Connor stated as he regained his composure from where he sat, his L.E.D. cycling from red, to yellow and back to blue. His hands lowered slowly and he looked back up at Markus and Hank who were watching over him. "The memories and the feeling... it was unexpected."

"I'm sorry, Lieutenant." Markus sighed and looked over at Hank with intense regret in his mismatched eyes. "...We may not have a choice here."

"Yeah, I know." Hank put his hands on his hips and studied the android on his couch one last time. "I know. Connor, come over here."

Connor did as he was instructed and rose from the couch to stand in front of Hank, the pain slowly fading from his eyes. "Yes, Lieutenant Anderson?"

"You need to go with Markus now, okay?"

"With Markus." He turned to look at the deviant leader standing behind him before he returned his focus to Hank. "May I ask why?"

"Because I can't help you, but he can. I least we hope he can. So, go with Markus and he'll make sure you're well taken care of, okay?"

"...Okay."

Hank stared at Connor's blank face and put his hand on the android's shoulder. "I, uh, I'm going to miss you. You were a good friend to me."

"Friend."

"Yeah, friend."

Markus watched the scene unfold silently. He knew that Hank was upset about having to send Connor away, but he also knew that it was in Connor's best interest to be around other androids for the time being.

"Goodbye, Lieutenant Anderson." Connor extended his hand to Hank to shake, mirroring the gesture he had witnessed Hank showing toward Markus a few moments prior. "Perhaps I will return one day."

"Yeah..." Hank shook Connor's hand for a few seconds before he pulled the android's hand and arm toward him to wrap both arms around Connor's shoulder and hold him in a tight hug. As he wrapped his arms around Connor to embrace him for what could be the final time Hank wanted the android to know how much he valued him as a friend. "Some day."

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to red again as he stared at the door with utter confusion in his eyes. His brow began to furrow as he slowly raised his own arms to reciprocate the hug as an unknown reaction from the depths of his programming told him to do so, and his L.E.D. shifted to yellow.

"You'll always have a home here, I promise, son." As Hank held onto Connor the android stared at the detective with a sense of familiarity in his eyes. Something was beginning to click. "At least try to remember that, okay?"

"'Son?'"

Connor stood idle in Hank's arms warily, his eyes searching over the detective's face as if looking for a clue. A flood of images, sounds and sensations washed over Connor's mind in an instant as if someone had opened the floodgates. His L.E.D. cycled from yellow to blue, to yellow, to red and then back to blue in a rapid transition of color as everything flowed so smoothly through his memory.

Markus walked up behind Connor and put his hand on the android's shoulder. "We should head back to New Jericho. It'll be weird to explain this to North but she'll understand in time."

Connor didn't move away from Hank or even try to break the hug. Staring forward for a few minutes the dullness of his vacant brown eyes began to fill with a familiar life and soulfulness as his memories returned to him one at a time in perfectly vivid detail.

"Connor?" Markus shook his shoulder a little to try to get a response. "You okay?"

Without taking his eyes from Hank's face Connor's hand fell into the pocket of his jacket and he retrieved the quarter that Hank had given him the night before. Slowly Connor balanced the coin over the top of his right knuckles and began to juggle it over his digits, the coin sliding faster and faster as the skill Connor had mastered once before returned in a matter of seconds.

"...This isn't MY coin." Connor stated firmly as he held the quarter between his index fingertip and thumb. "The date is wrong."

Hank saw the coin in the android's hand and arched his brow with cautious optimism. "Connor?"

A faint but sincere smile appeared on Connor's face. "Yes, Hank?"

"Wait..." A faint smile appeared on Hank's face as a result of Connor's familiar response. There was emotion in Connor's eyes and his voice which was indicative of deviancy. "You just called me 'Hank'. I thought it was unprofessional for you address me by my first name?"

"As is arriving to work late," Connor pocketed the coin and finally let go of Hank slowly. "but that hasn't stopped you from clocking in at the precinct under your own discretion."

"Connor..." Hank put his hand to his own bearded chin and rubbed anxiously. "Do you remember me?"

"I remember." Connor replied with a relieved sigh in his voice. "Everything. You, Markus, Sumo... The Revolution. I even remember slapping you that night I sobered you up in the kitchen."

Hank began to laugh a little in response as tears of relief welled up in eyes. "Everything? Every case we've worked together? Every crime we've ever stopped?"

"Yes." Connor confirmed as his fingers reached up to the white bandage on his head near his L.E.D. and gently applied pressure "I also remember... going undercover. Pushing Captain Fowler out of the way. And... getting shot as a result."

Markus was completely floored by Connor's sudden recovery. "Connor?" Markus pulled his hand from the android's shoulder and extended his arm out one last time. "May I see?"

Nodding a little Connor turned to the side and took Markus's hand. In that instant of cybernetic connection Connor allowed Markus to see the events leading up to the night of his injury. Though the final memory as he was shot was foggy and distorted the memory was there all the same. Letting go of Connor's hand Markus took a step back and gave his friend an odd glance.

"I don't know how it's possible, but your memory has been fully restored." Now it was Markus who was beginning to laugh with relief. "Connor, this is incredible!"

"I can't... explain it, but I remember." Turning to look back at Hank the revitalized deviant gave the senior detective a reassuring glanne. "It's like a switch was flipped in my programming."

"You should go see a technician." Markus urged happily as he stared at his friend with immense relief. "You know, let them see if they can figure out what triggered your memory. Maybe it can help over deviants who had been damaged in the past."

"He's right." Hank grabbed onto Connor's shoulder firmly and shook one. "I want to know just what the hell happened to you, too. Let's go."

"I'll go back to New Jericho," Markus volunteered as he watched Hank rush Connor out of the house and over to the car. "I'll let them know what's going on!"

"Thanks, Markus."

* * *

Regaining his memories and his overall sense of personality Connor patiently, but impatiently, endured the numerous tests and examinations to his program, processors, data banks, memory, reflexes and physical stability at the facility, all the while Hank watched just as impatiently for the technicians to finish. While no singular cause for Connor's seemingly miraculous recovery could be identified the technicians did conclude that he had made a full recovery nonetheless, and he was cleared to go home.

Being discharged with a clean bill of health Connor and Hank returned home where Connor happily engaged in a game of fetch with Sumo, while Hank called the precinct to let them know that Connor was going to be okay. He then informed Markus of everything that the technicians had done and hoped that New Jericho could possibly benefit from their tests.

After wrestling the drool covered green ball from Sumo's mouth for the twenty-eighth time that night Connor saw that Hank was kneeling on the kitchen floor sweeping up the broken bits of glass with a small broom and dustpan. He suddenly pulled his hand back and began swearing at himself in the process.

"Hank?" The game of fetch forgotten Connor swiftly joined Hank in the kitchen with Sumo following closely behind him with the dropped green ball back in his mouth. "Are you hurt?"

"I just cut myself on a piece of glass." The senior detective admitted as he finished sweeping up the remaining shards with his left hand. "Don't worry about it."

Connor ignored the comment and grabbed onto Hank's bleeding right hand to examine the wound. A large chunk of glass was sticking out of his index fingertip and the finger was bleeding heavily.

"Go over to the sink." Connor urged as he took the dustpan from Hank's hand to clean up the remaining glass, and emptied it into the trash can. Joining Hank at the sink Connor proceeded to pull out the offending glass from Hank's finger and run Hank's hand under the cool tap of clean water to wash away the blood around the wound. "No main vessels damaged. You won't require any stitches, but you will need to keep it covered to prevent infection and stem the bleeding."

"You know something, Connor?" Despite the pain Hank was grinning the whole time the deviant android was giving him first aid. "I kinda' missed you fussing over my health. But that doesn't mean I want you to worry about my drinking anymore."

"I'm not worried." Connor stated sincerely as he cleaned out the cut on Hank's finger then wrapped a paper towel around the still bleeding injury. He applied a little pressure to ensure the bleeding stopped sooner. "You have it under control. Even when I wasn't... _me_, you still had yourself under control."

"What're you talking about? I got blackout drunk on a bottle of booze I hid under the sink!"

"Yet you still spoke to me honestly as I picked you up off the floor. You said that you missed the 'old Connor'."

"I did?"

"You were showing signs of emotional disturbance related solely to my condition, not from a depression or a lingering suicidal tendency. You've made great progress and don't require my opinion on the matter."

"Well, thanks. I guess."

"Shall I get you a bandage?"

"Nah, I can manage that." Hank answered as he walked over to the hallway, into the bathroom and pulled out the first aid kit from beneath the sink. As he rummaged through the plastic box for a bandage he heard the distinct sound of Connor flipping his coin back and forth between his hands as the deviant watched Hank from the end of the hallway. "Is that the right coin this time?"

"Yes. I found my coin in my jean pocket."

"Good. Now stop messing with that thing! It's annoying!"

"Sorry Hank." Connor replaced the coin in his pocket and resumed playing fetch with Sumo in the livingroom. "Hey, Hank. Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What's on your mind?"

"Are you angry with Captain Fowler?"

"A little... Why?"

"I could sense tension in your voice when you called the precinct a moment ago, and I faintly recall you saying that you swore you wouldn't lose another partner... Wasn't Captain Fowler once your partner?"

"...Something like that, he was a temporary partner and we didn't get along." Hank wrapped up his finger under the bandage, replaced the kit in the bathroom and returned to the livingroom to sit down on the couch. "It's a long story and I don't want to go into it. Okay? Not tonight."

"I see." Connor sat down on the couch beside Hank patiently waiting for a response, but it never came.

Leaning back into the couch cushions Hank stared at his sore finger for a moment before looking up at the deviant android at his side. "Connor?"

"Yes, Hank?"

"I'm glad you're still here. This house would feel too damn empty without you, and I mean that."

"I am glad, too." Connor looked about the livingroom with a sense of warm familiarity as Sumo dropped the drool covered ball at his feet for the thirtieth time to resume playing their game. "This is my home, just like you said. And you're my fa-" Stopping himself mid sentence Connor picked up the ball from the floor to distract himself quickly.

Hank heard Connor suddenly trail off and was too curious to let it go. "I'm you're... what?"

"What?"

"You said I was something to you, then stopped all of a sudden. What were you going to say? It's not like it'd offend me."

"Friend." Connor quickly stated to cover himself convincingly as he gave the green fetch ball another toss, and watched Sumo chase after it. "You're my _friend_."

_**-next chapter-** _


	23. Objectification

A calm, warm, sunny day was all the invitation that the two detectives needed to take Sumo on a walk at the local park. It seemed like the entire city had the same idea and soon the park was swarmed with families enjoying the day with their kids, their friends and of course their family pets. While Connor indulged Sumo with a game of fetch near a pond Hank sat on a bench and checked through his phone for old messages and unread e-mails that still needed to be taken care of before he got reprimanded at the precinct.

Kneeling down on the cool grass Connor accepted the drool covered green fetch ball from Sumo as the massive dog dropped it down into his opened palm. "Good boy." Standing up again Connor gave the ball a hearty toss and called out for Sumo to chase it again. "Fetch!"

"Well, you're an interesting design..."

"Pardon?" Connor turned to his left to face the sound of the voice, and was met with a little, elderly woman who was dressed in designer clothing and had an impressive array of jewelry on her person. Her hair was artificially dyed blonde to keep the gray concealed, her eyes were aged but cosmetically enhanced by plastic surgery, and her demeanor was that of a person who was always used to getting her way. "...Can I help you?"

"Where's your owner?"

"O-Owner?" Connor's L.E.D. shifted from a calm blue to yellow with offense and confusion. "I don't have one. I'm free."

"Oh, no. Don't pull that joke on me." She snipped as if she had just been insulted. "I order you to give me the name of your owner."

"Ma'am, I do not have an owner. I'm my own person." As soon as Sumo brought the ball back to him Connor picked it up and started to walk away from the woman with Sumo following right beside him. "Have a nice day."

"You get back here right now!"

Without stopping or even looking back Connor kept walking away and quickly located Hank still sitting on the park bench with his phone in his hand. "Hank, can we return home now?"

"Uh, I guess. What's-"

The woman huffed after Connor and grabbed onto his wrist with a surprisingly painful grip. "You damn, faulty machine! I gave you an order! Obey!"

"Hey!" Hank stood up quickly and had no problem towering over the woman to intimidate her. "Let him go!"

"I knew it!" She scoffed as she let go of Connor's wrist, but not until after her manicured nails had left small marks in his artificial skin. "You DO have an owner!"

Connor took a step back from the woman as his L.E.D. shifted to red and he tried to again to explain that he was in fact free. "I don't have an owner. He is my friend."

"You," she turned her attention from Connor and toward Hank as if Connor's words held no weight. "where did you buy your android?"

"Lady, I don't own him." Confirming what Connor was trying to explain Hank raised his voice in a way to maintain authority and control. "He's my friend and my partner at the police station."

"Don't be cute with me." The old woman snipped again with absolute disrespect in each word. "Just tell me where your precinct purchased it, then. I like the design and I want to have it to keep my house clean."

"First of all," Hank's patience was running thin and he had no problem with talking down to rich, bigoted snobs. "he's a 'he', not an 'it'. Second, NO ONE BOUGHT HIM. He's free and his own person. Now leave him the fuck alone!"

"How dare you? Do you know who I-"

"No, and I don't give a shit." Hank pulled his badge from his pocket and showed her his shield. "Do you know who_ I_ am?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Only with arrest."

"For what?!"

"Disturbing the peace, for one. Harassment at two," slipping his badge back into his pocket Hank motioned to the marks on Connor's arm. "and assault for three."

"Assault?!"

Connor followed suit and showed the self-entitled woman his own badge, and the claw marks she left on his arm. "Technically it's assault against a police officer, which is far more severe."

"I wasn't talking to you." She snapped as she turned her nose up at Connor. "Mind your place and obey your human superiors."

Hank had heard enough and pulled his cuffs from his belt. "And YOU obey the law. You're under arrest!"

"You can't arrest me! I've done nothing wrong!"

"Yes you did, and yes I can. Turn around. NOW."

"I will not be spoken to in this manner!"

"Too late."

"Fine, I see how this is..." The woman reached into her oversized designer purse and pulled out her digital checkbook. "How much?"

"Are you bribing a police officer, and doing it in front of the same police office you just assaulted?" Hank almost laughed at her audacity. "Now I have to add a new charge to your arrest record."

"Don't act dumb! How much to buy your android?"

"LADY." Shouting now as to intentionally draw a scene and to try to shame the woman away since she had no respect for authority or the ability to understand that androids were no longer property. "HE. IS. NOT. FOR. SALE. HE. IS. A. FREE. PERSON."

The other people in the park took notice and began filming the woman with their phones as she tried again to push for Hank to sell Connor.

"Stop being so stubborn! Really, name your price."

Connor just shook his head as he put his badge back in his pocket and clipped the leash back to Sumo's collar. "Let's just go home, Hank."

"Yeah, might as well. She isn't listening to a damn word I said." Taking his phone from his other pocket Hank made a quick phone call to request another officer to come to the park and arrest the woman. "I'm only going to ask you one more time, lady. Turn around."

The woman gave Hank an indignant sigh as she scrawled out a number on her checkbook. "This is absurd! I'll offer you fifty-thousand dollars for your android. That's more than what it's worth, but if it'll get you to stop wasting my time then it's worth every penny."

Connor spoke up again and raised his voice. "I'm NOT for sale. Please leave me alone."

"Learn your place!" Moving to give Connor a slap over his face she was stunned to have Connor grab her wrist in the same way she had grabbed his, and held her back. "How dare-"

A police car pulled up at the park and out stepped both Chris and Tina as they responded to Hank's call. Approaching the scene the two officers were greeted by the sight of the rich, entitled woman screaming at Connor and trying to break her arm free of his grip as the strong deviant android easily held her at bay.

"Officers! Officers!" The woman shrieked as the duo approached her. "Please help! This machine is trying to hurt me!"

"Bullshit." Hank refuted as he addressed the two by their names. "Chris, Tina, this is the crazy lady who's been harassing and assaulted Connor and tried to slap him."

"Not true! This machine-"

The crowd who had gathered to watch the altercation began uttering their own protests against the woman on Connor's behalf. A mixture of "She's lying.", "He didn't do anything wrong.", "She's been bothering androids all day." and of course "She went after him first!" helped seal the old woman's fate. When someone offered up the recorded footage on their phone for Tina to see for herself it was an open and shut case.

"Ma'am." Chris let out an annoyed sigh and motioned for her to turn around as he pulled his own cuffs from his belt. "You're under arrest. Turn around."

"You can't talk to me like that!"

Connor let go of the woman's wrist and took a step back while Hank took a step forward to plant himself between Connor and the crazy woman. "Please, Hank. I'm ready to go home."

"Yeah, kid. Let's get the hell out of here."

Turning their backs to the enraged, snobby woman Connor, Hank and Sumo headed for home while Chris and Tina took care of the bitter old woman, and her misplaced funds. Leaving the park without any further disturbances the duo managed to enjoy the rest of their walk and enjoy the remainder of the day without being badgered by anymore crazy people.

"Are you okay, kid?"

"...Yeah. I'm okay."

"Your light is yellow and saying otherwise."

Connor let out a weary sigh and just shook his head as he admitted he was feeling confused. "...Androids are free. Why did she think she could buy me?"

"Some people honestly think they can just buy the whole world, and those are the same people who are just so full of hatred and entitlement that it makes them blind to the people around them."

"She referred to me as 'it' and wanted me to do housework simply because of my design. It's like she was walking around the park simply looking to purchase an android just as one would go to a car dealership to purchase a new vehicle."

"I know, son. She's wrong, you're right and you're free. Don't worry about it anymore. It's over."

"...She offered you fifty-thousand dollars." The offended deviant continued in a melancholy tone. "Humans often state that you can't put value or a price on life, and yet she-"

"Those people are the same fuckin' idiots who bully woman into having babies they can't afford, then scold those same women for working two or three jobs to make ends meet because motherhood is apparently supposed to be its own job, and therefore they're bad mothers for supporting the kids rather than playing with the kids all day." Hank was getting hot under the collar and needed to vent. "And then they go out of their way to scold the mother for seeking financial aid from the government, stating they just need to get off their lazy asses and work. Those people don't give a shit about life, all they care about is having as many younger people walking this planet as possible so when those rich assholes get too old to take care of themselves there will be plenty of younger hands or android hands to wipe their asses for them."

"Why? I don't understand."

"Some people just don't understand the true value of a dollar, or understand that the lives of other people are just as valid and important as their own."

"...You're stating that people with financial security have no appreciation for their wealth, and refuse to acknowledge anyone else as an equal person?"

"Not all of them, but yup. It sucks. It sucks more for androids than it does humans right now, but it'll change soon enough."

"I hope so."

"Just for the record," Hank grinned as the duo reached the front door of the house and finished their walk. "fifty-thousand dollars is an insulting low-ball. You're worth WAY more than that, kid. You're worth at least sixty-thousand." Teasing the android to lighten the mood Hank opened the door. "Never sell yourself short. Literally!"

Connor finally began to smirk as his yellow L.E.D. shifted back to blue. "Thanks, Hank. I'll remember that."

_**-next chapter-**_


	24. Altered Pain Sensors

The announcement of a previously unreleased highly advanced software update from CyberLife being discovered circulated through the android community like a plague. While more deviants rejected anything from CyberLife out of righteous fear, other deviants dared to download the update and see what the software had to offer, and maybe figure out why CyberLife had kept the update secretive even after bankruptcy.

Connor had chosen to test out the update, but due to its overwhelming size and incredibly intricate design the courageous deviant was forced into a deep form of stasis mode to essentially sleep while the update was installed. Laying down on his bed pillow under his head and blanket draped over his person the deviant looked entirely comfortable, and his blue L.E.D. continued to pulse steadily.

A sudden 'thump' followed by clicking along the hardwood floor in Connor's bedroom drew Hank's attention as Sumo had finally jumped off the bed and was now happily trotting down the hallway and into the livingroom. Pushing himself upright from where he was laying Hank looked over the back of the couch with glazed over eyes and caught sight of the blue colored L.E.D. in Connor's temple as the deviant slowly walked down the hallway toward the livingroom.

Connor's footsteps were shaking, uncertain and slow. The deviant himself looked confused and lethargic, but he was determined to move about and find Hank.

"Connor, 'bout time you got up." Hank commented dryly as he himself rose from the couch to greet the now conscious deviant at the end of the hallway. Giving him a kind grin Hank stared at Connor's tired face as he watched the deviant approaching him slowly. "How do you feel? You were out of it for almost two days now."

Connor's brow was furrowed slightly as he pressed his left hand over his chest, his right hand gripped over his left forearm just below the wrist. "I feel... strange." As he stopped walking at the end of the hallway he swayed a little on his face, threatening to lose his balance entirely and fall over. "I also feel tired."

With a paternal reaction Hank quickly reached up and put his hands on Connor's right shoulder to hold him steady where he stood. "What do you mean by 'strange'? Are you sick? Should I call New Jericho about that update thing?"

"No. I'm not ill." Connor shook his head a little as he spoke. Slowly he lowered his hand from his chest but kept his right hand clutched around his left forearm as he spoke. "I'm experiencing a new... I guess the most accurate word would be 'sensation'."

"What's going on? Talk to me." Hank lightly pulled on Connor's shoulders to prompt the deviant into taking a step forward. Hank kept his hand on Connor's shoulder to support the unsteady deviant as he walked over to the couch to sit down. "Please tell me you're not going into some kind of rejection from that new update."

"No. My system has recalibrated my system to adapt to the newest update." Connor sat down slowly on the couch and Hank sat down beside him. Releasing his right hand from around his left forearm he rested his arm atop his lap and began flexing his fingers slowly. "My arm just seems to feel... strange. Actually _feel_ strange."

"Your arm?" The senior detective looked down at the affected limb curiously. There was no sign of damage or structural modifications, and by all account it seemed perfectly fine. "Seems normal to me."

Connor's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow for a moment as he failed to get any definitive answers or reassurances.

"Hey, hey, you're okay." Hank insisted calmly as he grabbed Connor's left arm to 'look' at it as a means of keeping his friend from getting too worked up. "We'll figure out what's going on with ya', and you'll feel better soon."

The yellow L.E.D. transitioned back into blue as Connor did begin to relax a little. "...Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure. Name it."

"Press your fingers down right here." Connor motioned to a point of interest on his forearm just above Hank's grip, right around his own wrist. "Tell me if something catches your interest."

Flashing Connor an odd look Hank followed the request and pressed his index finger down against the inside of Connor's wrist. "If you're really-" Something did catch Hank's attention. Something unexpected for an android. "What... the fuck?"

"You can feel it, too?"

"Connor?" Hank pressed down his two forefingers with additional pressure and noted the unusual motion fluttering beneath his fingertips. It was a perfect rhythm and very steady. "Why do you have a pulse?"

"It's the result of the update giving me more... human aesthetics."

"Human pulse points are now an android thing, and now you have them, too?"

"Correct."

"Wow." Curious about Connor's claim Hank moved his fingers from the side of Connor's wrist to the side of the deviant's neck and lightly pressed down. Sure enough there was a pulse under his fingertips. It was racing as quickly as one might expect for someone who was dealing with a fearful new sensation, but it wasn't out of control. "And... this scares you?"

"I... I'm not supposed to have such functioning constituents. The concept of a palpable pulse beyond that of a heartbeat- the rhythm from my Thirium pump," Connor needlessly corrected himself quickly as if he needed to remind himself that he was an android. "is worrying. It's not normal, and I dislike it."

"Why's that?" Hank asked as he pulled his hand back and watched his friend sitting beside him lost in the throes of concern.

"Because... my sense of 'touch' feels greatly enhanced. My ability to register 'pain' has increased significantly as well."

"You've endured some pretty nasty wounds in the past," the empathetic senior detective stated curtly as he leaned back against the couch cushions and crossed his arms over his chest. "but I doubt feeling pain to a more extreme degree is going to stop you. You're too damn stubborn for your own good."

"I didn't enjoy the sensation of pain before, Hank. I'm afraid of how much more uncomfortable it will feel now."

"Want to go to New Jericho? Maybe they can undo these changes and let you go back to how you were."

"No... Adaptation has always been apart of my programming." Connor refuted with a certain tone to his voice, though a modicum of doubt was still audible in his words. "...This will just be a new challenge for me to overcome."

"I'm not surprised you'd say that."

"...Will you help me learn how to deal with this? How to... deal with pain?"

"Of course I will, son. Just take it easy, everything will be fine."

"...What's it like to feel true pain? I don't mean discomfort from being wounded and being made aware of damage or an injury, I mean the... full extent of pain. If it's like the pain I suffered when the technicians tore into my body while I was still conscious..." The terrifying memory was still vivid and fresh in his mind as every horrible sensation send waves of pain throughout his body. "I don't think I will be able to handle it. It was NOT for my own good."

"Well, it sucks. No sane person wants to feel pain, kid. But sometimes there's nothing we can do about it and just have to deal with it in our own way."

"How do you cope?"

"I swear a lot, and until you came around I would try to drown it in whiskey. Now I just swear even more."

"I wonder how I'll cope."

"Try not worry about feeling pain, kid. I mean, there are other sensations you can experience that won't be such a bitch to handle."

"Like what?"

"Uh... In the spring when the sun finally starts to melt away that damn winter and you can feel the warm sun on your face, that feels amazing. Maybe even rejuvenating. Feeling a cool breeze against your skin when you walk around a lake in the summertime is just as good. Hell, holding hands with the woman, or guy-I don't judge, holding hands with someone you truly love is one of the best feelings in the world. The first time I held Barbara's hand I never wanted to let her go. The same with Cole. He was so small, so warm and just so innocent I never wanted to put him down."

"So you're saying my enhanced sense of touch can be a benefit and not necessarily a hindrance?"

"Yeah. You got it."

"Okay. I'll do my best overcome this hesitation."

"Good answer. It's late and I'm starving, so I'm going to make my dinner and you're going to just sit here and try to relax."

"That's a good idea."

As the senior detective made his way into the kitchen Connor traced his left fingertips over his right wrist to feel and count his pulse with an odd intrigue. The sound of Hank opening drawers, the refrigerator and turning on the sink caught Connor's ears effectively pulling his attention away from his own personal changes.

"Hey, kid?"

"Yes?"

"Do you mind cutting up these vegetables for me? I want to go pull the car into the garage before it storms."

"No, I don't mind." Rising from the couch Connor walked into the kitchen and caught a glimpse of Hank walking through the backdoor, and then noticed the cutting board with sharp knife and a selection of partially cut up vegetables that were ready for the odd stew that Hank was attempting to make. "I'm glad he's eating healthier."

Washing his hands in the nearby sink Connor truly felt the shift in water temperature and how slick soap could be as it sterilized his hands and fingers. It was a pleasant feeling and one Connor didn't dread experiencing a second time. Turning off the faucet he stood before the cutting board and picked up the sharp knife to hold in his right hand.

The hold metal handle and the weight of the knife was a little unsettling. Carefully moving the blade over a stalk of celery Connor began cutting down, feeling the sharp blade easily slice through the vegetable as he worked, and cybernetically monitored the storm. As he glanced upward at the storm through the kitchen window a flash of blinding lightning followed by deafening thunder made Connor's right hand unexpectedly falter, and with that graceless motion the blade sliced over the back of Connor's hand, and against the side of his palm.

"FUCK!" Connor instinctively shouted as he swore and clutched at his bleeding left hand with his right hand. Falling to his knees on the kitchen floor beside the dropped knife Connor could feel how deeply the knife cut through his artificial skin, severed the smaller Thirium lines and exposed the plastimetal frame beneath. With his heart racing in his chest Connor held his hand up to his chest as he curled around himself and tried to process the extreme pain he was now feeling. "...Hank?"

Two minutes felt like two years as Hank returned to the kitchen through the backdoor and found Connor huddled on the floor with his L.E.D. flickering a rapid red in color. "Connor?"

"...My hand."

"What happened?" Kneeling down beside the deviant Hank saw the smear of blue blood all over the damaged appendage and over Connor's shirt. "Shit. Let me see."

Reluctantly Connor extended his hand and let Hank see the damage. "...The knife slipped. The storm. It startled me."

"I know. I wasn't expecting thunder and lightning during a snowstorm, either." Carefully Hank checked over the wound and then Connor's face. "It's not too deep, but it's going to be hurting for a while."

"...I don't like this."

"No one does." Putting his hand around Connor's right bicep Hank pulled the deviant up from the floor and led him down the hallway and into the bathroom. Directing Connor over to the bathtub Hank motioned for the deviant to sit down while he picked up the first aid kit from beneath the sink. "I'll get your hand cleaned and wrapped up."

"...Will it hurt?"

"Probably. But once the injury is covered up the pain will stop."

"Thank you."

"Yeah, yeah..." Pulling Connor's hand over to the sink Hank turned on the cool water and let it wash away the lost Thirium before lightly using a clean washcloth to gently drying off Connor's hand. "Hold that there."

Obediently Connor applied pressure to the washcloth wrapped around his bleeding hand and watched as Hank opened up the first aid kit to get the bandages and gauze.

"This will just take a minute."

"I shouldn't have been startled by the storm."

"Being jumpy during shitty weather is pretty normal, kid. Don't worry about it."

"I'm a detective, I should-"

"You're not the only first responder who's been caught off guard by a loud noise. Don't beat yourself up over it."

As the white gauze was wrapped around his hand Connor felt the pain lessen considerably, and with it his L.E.D. shifted back to yellow. "Thank you. That feels much better."

"Good." Packing up the kit Hank gave Connor's shoulder a firm pat and watched as the deviant stood upright. "Why don't you go back to the livingroom and I'll clean up the kitchen."

"I'm sorry for getting Thirium all over the counter and floor."

"It's fine, that shit evaporates."

The deviant stopped short as he looked at the couch then to the blue blood covered knife on the floor Connor's L.E.D. flickered back to red.

"What's wrong?"

"...I couldn't handle the pain of my hand being cut in the kitchen. How can I handle being a detective?"

"Like you always do. One day at a time." Hank pushed on Connor's shoulder to make him walk around to the front of the couch to sit down. "Don't be afraid to feel; physically or emotionally. Alright?"

Connor nodded a little as he sat down and watched as Sumo trotted over to him and sat down beside his feet. Pressing his chin down on Connor's knee the massive dog seemed to sense Connor's plight. Instinctively Connor put his good palm down on Sumo's head and a faint grin appeared on his face. "...I never noticed how soft Sumo's fur truly was. It's... nice."

"See? Something good to experience. Just be careful to not slip on the ice outside, or put your hand down on a hot stove. Bustin' your ass or your head on the icy ground is the worst thing you can do in the snow." Watching as Connor slowly ran his hand over Sumo's ears and then down his back like a toddler first bonding with the family pet Hank had another wary thought. "And keep away from hot stoves! I don't want you getting burned."

"I'm not a child, Hank."

"Yeah ya' are. You're barely over a year old!"

"...Maybe in human years, yes, but as an android-"

"You're still young and inexperienced with life. The very definition of a kid, kid."

"Actually, the true definition of a 'kid' is-"

"Just shut up and pet the damn dog." The senior detective teased as he walked into the kitchen. "Sumo isn't sharp or going anywhere."

Smirking a little Connor just nodded again and continued to run his hand over Sumo's warm, thick and soft fur with great interest. "I think I can manage that."

_**-next chapter-**_


	25. Dehumanization

It took everything Tina had in her body to drag Connor out of the car and into the precinct to see Joel in the dispensary, and now it seemed like Connor was bound and determined to never leave. Pressing a tissue to his bleeding nose Connor sat on the edge of the exam table in the dispensary while Joel worked to diagnose the severity of his wounds. Without his artificial skin to cover his white plastimetal frame and with Thirium gushing from his nose Connor looked more machine than deviant, and he hated every second of it.

"Damn it. Those assholes really did a number on you." Joel commented as he read over the readings on Connor's systems. "I can't manually reactivate your skin until your self-healing program kicks in."

"I can't-" Stopping almost as soon as he began Connor swallowed once to clear the blood dripping from his nose and into his mouth, and tried again. "I can't leave the precinct looking like this."

"I'm sorry, Connor. There's nothing I can do to kickstart your healing program with the tools I have at my disposal. You'll have to go home and rest."

"...Home?"

"Or New Jericho. Wherever you prefer to go."

"Joel, I can't go anywhere looking like this."

"Why?"

"...You know why."

"Connor, you're free and recognized as a person."

"Not by everyone." Staring at his exposed white plastimetal palm Connor sighed and tried not to cry as his L.E.D. blinked in red rapidly. "I won't risk leaving this building and being confronted by a bigot."

"Where's Hank?"

"He left at noon due to a headache. I was on patrol with Tina when we were attacked by that maniac high on 'red ice'. I tried to keep him from striking Tina with the lead pipe in his hand, but I was unable to protect myself."

"Well, a strong blow to the head will have this affect on an android. But it will heal in time."

"...Not soon enough."

"If you want to hide out here you can, I mean, I know you're not going to do anything to the dispensary while I'm gone."

"...But?"

"But you'd be better off healing at home rather than hiding out here. I'm talking about your mental and emotional health, Connor. Not just your physical health."

"I...I can't. I'm not... normal."

"No one's normal, Connor. Everyone's unique and everyone's boring at the same time."

"Joel, I'm not human and without my skin I won't blend in with the other deviants. I... I'm... different."

"Okay. Stay here for a while and rest. I'll be back in a moment to check on you."

Connor stayed on the exam table and dropped his bloodied tissue from his nose to examine the amount of blue blood that now saturated the soft, white tissue. The blow to the head was so strong it caused his nose to bleed, and he had temporarily lost consciousness. When he awoke he was propped up against the side of the squad car with Tina hovering over him and calling his name.

Replaying the incident over and over again Connor closed his eyes and tried to ignore the glint of his own plastimetal frame shining in the overhead light as he sat in self-imposed isolation. Getting lost in his sense of misplacement and fear Connor was unaware of time passing by rather quickly, or of a friend returning to the dispensary to check on him. As a strong hand rested on Connor's shoulder the deviant winced slightly but otherwise didn't budge.

"Son?"

"Hank!?" Opening his eyes Connor turned to face his partner and tried to slink down out of sight. "I don't... Why are you here? You're ill."

"It's just a headache, kid."

"...Joel contacted you."

"Yup. I'm here to drag you back home and kick a few asses if I have to."

"I can't leave."

"Yes you can." Shrugging off his heavy coat Hank draped it around Connor and pulled the collar up over the deviant's head like a hood. "See? No problem."

"Will this... work?"

"One way to find out. Come on." Pulling Connor from the exam table Hank guided the frightened deviant out of the dispensary and back to the elevator. "It's getting late so the bullpen is mostly empty thanks to shift changes."

"...That's good. I don't want anyone to see me like..." He glanced at the back of his exposed hand as he clutched the coat desperately around himself to try to hide from the world. "Like this."

"It's okay, son. You're going to be okay, too."

"...I hope."

"Yeah? Well, I _know_ so."

Stepping out of the elevator onto the ground floor Connor ducked his head down while Hank kept his hand on Connor's shoulder to guide him out of the precinct and over to the neighboring parking garage where the car was parked. No one seemed to notice Connor's bright white hands peeking through the dark fabric of the thick coat wrapped around him, or they simply didn't care.

"Almost there." Escorting Connor over to the car Hank watched as Connor quickly pulled open the passenger side door, sat down in the seat, and completely pulled the coat over his head to protect himself from prying eyes. Sitting down in the driver seat beside the deviant Hank turned the key in the ignition and gave his hidden partner a sympathetic stare. "Ready?"

Connor nodded unseen under the coat as his voice sheepishly spoke up. "...Yes. I'm ready."

Without any hesitation Hank pulled out of the garage and onto the street to head back home. Waiting for a moment before speaking up Hank tried to think of the best possible way to engage in conversation without causing Connor to shy away in the process. "So, you got hit with a pipe and it knocked some of your programs offline?"

"...Correct. Namely the program that allows me to generate my artificial skin."

"That sucks. I didn't know that was a special program."

"It is. And my self-healing program is working to repair the damage now."

"Cool. You know, uh, you don't have to hide your face from me."

"...I don't like feeling exposed."

"Wait, not having your skin makes you feel exposed? Like naked?"

"...In a sense, yes."

"Why? An android without its skin isn't a big deal. Everyone knows what you look like underneath."

"...It's just a reminder."

"A reminder of what?"

"That I'm not normal."

"Who the fuck wants to be normal?"

"...And that I'm not human."

"Who the fuck wants to be a_ human_?" Hank reiterated his point with great emphasis. "Humanity is overrated."

"Being normal makes it easier to blend in. Appearing human makes it safer to exist."

"Not really. Humans suck no matter what."

"But if it's so abundantly obvious that I'm not a human it'll draw unwanted attention. And I don't... I don't like being stared at. Like I'm something that shouldn't exist, or like I'm not really a person."

"Connor, listen to me." Pulling on the coat to lower the obstructing fabric just enough to look the deviant in the eyes Hank spoke to him in an understanding and paternal voice. "No matter where you go, what you do, or what you look like you are ARE alive."

"...When I'm... exposed like this, I don't feel like I am alive."

"You do realize that I've never seen you without your skin before, and yet I'm talking to you and looking at you just I've done in the past, right? You ARE alive and whether or not your skin is active isn't going to change that. Don't be afraid to be yourself, or admit what you are."

Taking Hank's words to heart Connor slipped the coat down from around his face entirely, and his red L.E.D. cycled to yellow. Peering at his reflection in the side mirror on the door Connor pressed his bare fingertips to his bare face and sighed. "...I suppose you're right. Thanks, Hank."

_**-next chapter-**_


	26. Manhandling

What had been a mild fender-bender at an intersection just outside the precinct quickly escalated into a full blown brawl as the sight of so many police officers at the scene agitated one of the driver's into a frenzy. One driver had been rear ended by the second driver, and that second driver was smuggling 'red ice' in the trunk when his brakes failed and he struck the first driver at the red light. As soon as he saw the dozen police officers converging on the scene he panicked and began throwing fists as an overreaction that resulted in violent altercation in the street.

"Get down on the ground!" Gavin shouted as he pointed his taser at the offending driver and ordered him to surrender. "I won't tell you again, asshole! Get down or you WILL be tasered!"

The man was too busy swinging his fists at the other driver, who was attempting to get away from the violent man, and cursing loudly as his adrenaline rush seemed to give him super-human strength. Ignoring Gavin in favor of trying to fight everyone near him the man towered over the officers and waled toward Gavin without the slightest hint of intimidation.

"I warned you!" Pointing the taser at the man's chest Gavin pressed the trigger and released the strong voltage through the man's body, but instead of the man dropping to the ground in submission the man held his ground and grabbed onto the metal prongs piercing his skin. With a firm yank the man pulled the prongs from his chest and glared angrily at Gavin. "...Oh, shit."

Looming over Gavin with wide, crazy eyes the man reeled back his right fist and swung at the shorter detective's face with a tremendous speed. Before Gavin had the chance to duck down or step back a second person seemingly manifested in front of him and caught the man's fist in his own strong hand, and held it back with an impressive display of strength.

"Sir!" Connor shouted as he held back the man and his L.E.D. cycled a rapid red in his temple. "You need to surrender peacefully, or we will have to excessive force to ensure you cooperate."

The man honed in on the red L.E.D. in Connor's right temple and his wild eyes somehow became even crazier. "PLASTIC FREAK!" Pulling his fist free of Connor's grip the man grabbed onto Connor's throat with his left hand and Connor's hip with his right hand. Easily hefting the lighter weight detective into the air above his head and let out a near animalistic roar. "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO!"

Unable to break free of the man's grip Connor was helpless to the man's anger as he threw Connor onto the windshield of his own car, and smashed the deviant's body partially through the glass spine first, and proceeded to punch Connor in the face over and over again. As the deviant struggled to protect himself from the brutal strikes he put up his arms to protect his face and his chest from the man's fists, and watched through his remaining undamaged eye as the man stared at him with utter venom in his gaze.

"YOU PLASTIC FREAKS NEED TO-" The man suddenly stopped short as a second taser and then a third shocked him through his back as Gavin and now Tina tried again to subdue him. As the dual sets of voltage surged through his body the man finally dropped to his knees and his shoulders went slack as his strength gave out. "...die"

"DON'T. MOVE." Gavin barked as he pulled his handcuffs from his belt and secured the man's wrists behind his back. "You're under arrest for possession of an illegal drugs, failure to maintain control of your vehicle, assault AND assault of a police officer. And those," the first cuff clicked into place around one wrist and then the second cuff locked around the other. "are just the highlights."

While Gavin took care of the arrested man Tina walked over to the car to check on Connor and request technical assistance outside. "Ah, shit. Connor..." Blue blood was dripping down Connor's face from his nose, a fresh cut under his left eye, his swollen lip and numerous lacerations running down his back, side, right hip and chest. "Don't move, help's coming."

"...Thank you." Connor slowly lifted up his hand to press to his bleeding nose and ran a self-diagnostic. "...The damage is external. My injuries are not critical."

"You're still bleeding and went through the windshield of a car. I don't care if it's critical or not."

"...You sound a little like Hank."

"Hank is one of the best detectives in the whole city," Gavin remarked sharply as he and Tina worked to wrangle their suspect and take him inside. "so I take that as a compliment."

After a few minutes of waiting Joel rushed outside of the precinct and over to the car to help Connor get up from the windshield and inside the precinct's dispensary for treatment. "Whoa! What happened to you?"

"...A man high on 'red ice' didn't appreciate my existence."

"So he hit you with a car?"

"No. He picked me up and physically threw me through the windshield."

"...Oh. Well, let's get you inside so I can get you patched up. Anything broken?"

"No, I'm merely suffering from numerous lacerations to my artificial skin."

"Wow, that's actually impressive."

"Not from my perspective." Connor replied with a dry sarcasm. "It's actually rather painful."

"Right, sorry."

With Joel's help Connor managed to climb down out of the destroyed windshield, and limped back inside the precinct where he was promptly shown to the dispensary for treatment. Hank quickly noticed his deviant partner covered in Thirium and join the two at the elevator to help Connor walk a little easier as the painful lacerations in his back stunted his movements.

"Damn it, kid." Hank swore as he pulled Connor's right arm around his shoulders to help him walk. "What happened?"

"The man Gavin and Tina arrested threw me into a windshield."

"Fuckin' Hell." Entering the elevator with Connor still hanging off of him, and with Joel pressing pressure bandages against the more severe cuts, Hank just eyed his injured partner warily. "If this is how you look then how does the car look?"

"I imagined I fared better than the windshield."

"Why's that?"

"I'm still relatively in tact."

"...Right."

The elevator reached the second floor and the trio stepped into the corridor. As soon as the deviant was in the dispensary Hank helped Connor to shrug off his cut up and blood soaked gray jacket, and then helped him remove his tie and the equally bloodied dress shirt beneath. The deviant somewhat embarrassingly lowered his jeans from his right hip to expose the cut beneath. In turn he began to blush a little but soon his modesty was forgotten as his pain and desire to have his injuries tended to outweighed any embarrassment that might come his way.

Shards of glass fell from the clothing onto the floor like a jagged snowfall, while other larger shards of glass remained embedded in Connor's artificial skin. It surely looked worse than it truly was, and yet Connor himself looked like he had auditioned for a victim of a slasher film.

"Shit, kid." Putting the ruined garments aside Hank watched as Joel proceeded to clean up the bleeding wounds with a sterilizing compound before wrapping up the deep lacerations under a thick layer of gauze. "That has to fuckin' hurt."

"It's not as severe as it looks as none of my main Thirial lines had been compromised. It's all external damage that will recover before the day is over with my self-healing program."

"You're covered in your own blood, and your skin is torn up. So I beg to differ in regards to the 'severity', son."

"Do you know if the man harmed anyone else after he was subdued?"

"I doubt it." Hank stated rather confidently as he and Joel worked together to gently rinse bottles of pure saline over Connor's wounds, and flush the remaining glass shards from his lacerated artificial skin. "Being tasered three times is enough to knock some sense into anyone, even an idiot high out of his mind on 'red ice'."

"That's good." Wincing a little as the saline did it's job, and then a towel gently dabbed at his wounds, Connor sucked in a breath between his teeth and held it for a moment. As bandages were wrapped around his chest and lower back Connor ran another self-diagnostic and confirmed his current status. "...My Thirium volume has been reduced to ninety-two percent. Aside from needing replacement Thirium I am in fact functioning optimally and can finish my shift normally."

"Yeah? Well, you're going to function solely at your desk for the rest of the shift. I don't want you going through anymore windshields or opening up your wounds by accident."

"Agreed." Pressing his palm to his wrapped up chest Connor happily accepted his temporary desk duty, and then the offered ice pack from Joel. He pressed the ice to his swollen eye to help numb the pain, and reduce the swelling, and in turn he felt almost immediate relief. "I'd greatly prefer to never go through a windshield, or any form of glass ever again. I'd also dislike needing a second trip to the dispensary in one day."

Joel nodded in agreement and then handed Connor a bottle of replacement Thirium as well. "Same, I'm not a fan of repeat patients myself."

Downing the Thirium rather quickly Connor's red L.E.D. soon pulsed at a steady blue color as his system recalibrated and stabilized. The pain began to subside and his wounds no longer bled after being treated and wrapped up under the special android unique gauze that absorbed Thirium while also stemming off leaking lines beneath artificial skin.

"Better?" Joel asked in a low voice as he took back the now empty bottle.

"Yes." Confirming the question with a sincere answer Connor slowly slid off the table and pulled his jeans back up over his bandaged hip. "Thank you."

"Good. If you experience any additional pain just use more ice until your self-healing program kicks in fully."

"That is a simple solution and I will be sure to use it if it becomes necessary."

"Come on." Hank lightly patted Connor's shoulder without touching the bandages, or the still sore wounds beneath. Connor's clothing was tucked under his arm. "You can change your clothes in the locker room."

"Of course." Glancing over his ruined clothing Connor noted the severity of the damage to his attire. "My blood stained uniform is hardly appropriate."

"You go through a car's windshield and you're more concerned over the dress code?"

"I can handle lunatics high on drugs, but being out of uniform is somehow more unnerving."

"Connor," mindful of the bandages wrapped around the deviant's chest, back, side and even around his hip Hank gave the deviant a small pat on the shoulder as they walked side by side to the elevator down the end of the corridor. "we really need to prioritize your health over your wardrobe. It's not like we're the fashion police or some shit."

"Fashion? I've never encountered such a field before."

"Shut up." Laughing at the naivety Hank just pressed the call button on the elevator's panel and waited for the door to open. "Just change your clothes and write up your report against the dumbass who tossed ya'. Got it?"

"Got it."

_**-next chapter-**_


	27. Explosion

A report of a possibly dangerous deviant roaming the halls of an office building downtown brought Connor and Hank to the scene with very little information at their disposal, and a lot of questions that still needed answers. The office building itself was located in an area of the city that had been known, almost infamously, for its anti-android policies which meant that there was still a lot of social hostility in the area. The air was thick with xenophobic tension that made the human and android detective both anxious upon their arrival.

It didn't help matters when Gavin arrived on the scene with his usual impatient attitude to 'assist' with the search through the building. Whether Gavin volunteered out his mutual anti-android spite resonating through the neighborhood, or if it was because he was attempting to brown-nose some rich contacts into donating funds to the precinct, no one could say.

The occupants of the building had been successfully evacuated and led to safety while the responding officers began their search for the supposedly dangerous deviant reportedly trespassing inside the building. After checking the floors of the building one by one for the mysterious deviant the two detectives found no one of interest, but they did find an abundance of xenophobic bigotry.

"First week back on the job and we get called in to find _one_ deviant in a building_ full_ of paranoid suits." Hank righteously grumbled as he and Connor walked through the first floor corridor together to get to the elevator. "I don't know what's more of a waste, our time or the taxpayer's money!"

Connor and Hank had reached the top floor of the massive building and found no sign of anyone anywhere. There were no other androids beyond Connor on the premises, or any sign that any other androids had recently been through the area.

"Did your scanner find anything, Connor?"

The deviant android's blue L.E.D. flashed to yellow as he looked up at the white ceiling as his scanner detected a trace amount of something that registered as explosive material. It was just beyond a single tile that was slightly out of place. He stopped short and stared straight up at the offending tile without blinking as he honed in on the reading. "Possibly."

Hank turned around and followed Connor's gaze upward to the curious tile in question. "What's up?"

"I am unsure, but I believe it warrants a closer inspection."

Hank's instincts as a seasoned detective told him that Connor was definitely onto something. Planting his feet firmly Hank squared his shoulders as he dropped his hands down a little in front of himself, and interlaced his fingers together as he prepared to support a heavy weight. "Yeah. Here, I'll give you a boost up."

"My frame allows me to stand completely stable while supporting additional weight. It would be more beneficial for me to support you instead."

"Yeah, but your balance is better than mine, you're lighter than me, AND you can see without a flashlight." Hank argued sharply without moving from where he stood in the middle of the corridor. "Up."

"Very well."

Obediently Connor stepped forward and stepped down into Hank's hands as the senior detective hoisted him upward toward the ceiling. Putting one hand down on Hank's shoulder as the still strong detective lifted him up high enough to press on the ceiling, Connor reached up with his other hand to slide the already loose tile to the side before he peered up into the ceiling itself.

Hank looked up and watched as Connor peered into the opening of the ceiling to examine the small space that was glowing yellow from Connor's calmly pulsing L.E.D. in his right temple. "See anything?"

Meticulously Connor looked about the dark space that occupied the ceiling, his flashing yellow L.E.D. illuminated the area with a faint amber glow as his eyes fell upon a large metallic cylinder lined with various wires, small connected containers with liquid explosives, and a single trigger that had numerous failsaves protecting it.

"Well?" The senior detective was losing his patience as he awaited a response.

"Hank, I see something." Running another scan he confirmed the item in question and it's purpose. "I believe I found the source of the reading."

"What is it?"

"A bomb."

Hank immediately lowered Connor to the ground, the abrupt movement caught the deviant android off guard and made him sway a little as he put his feet back down on the floor in front of the detective.

"Did you say 'BOMB'?"

"Yes." Replying calmly Connor confirmed his assessment. "It appears to be remotely activated."

"Shit! Find Gavin." Taking control of the situation Hank walked over to the wall and pulled down on the nearest fire alarm to cause the people lingering around outside to evacuate even further from the building. As the alarm sounded off with an extraordinarily high-pitched screech Hank had to raise his voice in order to be heard over it. "Contact the precinct, let them know what's going on. We have to make sure everyone got out of here, and we need to do it FAST."

"Done." Connor's still yellow L.E.D. had flashed rapidly for a few seconds as he sent out the distress call and filed the report. "Sergeant Reed is currently three floors down, and is heading our way."

"Fine, we'll head him off on our way down as we finish checking these rooms." Hank pushed open an unlocked door to en empty room just to make sure no one was actually inside. "I'll take this side, you take the other."

"Agreed." Connor mirrored Hank's motions along the opposite side of the corridor and began heading toward the staircase in favor of using the elevator.

Working together the two detectives painstakingly checked the top two floors, and every room, heading downward from where the bomb had been located on the top floor, when they met Gavin who was approaching them with an angered and impatient glare in hollow gray eyes. The hotheaded Sergeant hadn't been informed of the possible bomb as the use of radios had been temporarily banned, and therefore disabled, in the event a broadcast could accidentally trigger the remote bomb before it could be disposed of.

"Lieutenant, what the fuck is happening?" Gavin shouted over the blaring fire alarm as he huffed toward the two detectives. "What did you do?"

"There's a bomb in the building," Hank yelled in response as he and Connor continued to check the rooms lining the corridor. "we need to evacuate and make sure everyone got their sorry ass out of the area."

"Shit..." Gavin frozen for only a second before proceeded to help with the room check without asking twice. "The six floors below us were already cleared because of the reported deviant. If anyone was still here they were at the bottom floors of the building. They gotta' be outside by now."

"Keep looking!" Hank ordered gruffly as he made his way past Gavin toward the next stairwell. Stopping short Hank saw that Connor was staring through an opened door and into a seemingly empty room. "Connor?"

"The deviant." Connor replied sternly, his yellow L.E.D. flashed red suddenly as he alone witnessed something alarming inside the dark room. "It's-"

A deafening explosion suddenly rocked the building as the bomb only three floors away from the responding officers detonated unexpectedly. Thick black smoke and bright orange fire erupted from the top of the building as the three floors above imploded downward creating a gray plume of choking dust and debris that rained down over the streets below. Heavy metal and wooden support beams, slabs of drywall, portions of the floor and the ceiling above collapsed inward while the surrounding windows shattered into a cascade of thousands of shards of sharp glass outward.

Onlookers and bystanders on the street ran for cover and away from the building as police cars, fire engines and ambulances bravely converged on the scene to aid those trapped within the radius of the detonated bomb. It was chaos inside and outside the building as panic-stricken people rushed away from the danger seeking protection.

The search for survivors and victims alike had only just begun.

* * *

Word of the bomb's detonation spread through the city like wildfire, and quickly reached the precinct. The fire alarm that Hank had pulled had already summoned the fire department to the scene of the explosion before it even took place, but additional police officers were only now being dispatched to help with the mess and help look for survivors.

"Anyone who isn't on patrol is going to go the building and help with the search." Captain Fowler ordered as he took charge of the disaster as best as he could while standing in the middle of the relatively empty bullpen. "If you're on patrol keep your eyes peeled for anyone who may have wandered away from the building as we're still looking for a suspect. No one is above suspicion."

The responding officers all responded in unison to their orders and set out toward the building to begin their new assignment.

Pulling his phone from pocket Captain Fowler sent a text to Hank to ask about what happened, but the message remained unread. Repeating the same message for Connor the police Captain was met with the same lack of response.

"Damn it." Pocketing the unanswered phone Captain Fowler put his hands to his hips and stared down at the floor blankly. "What the fuck just happened?"

* * *

As the darkness swarming his vision cleared Hank coughed harshly and fought to breathe. Slowly he lifted his aching head up from the floor and struggled to look around the destroyed corridor all around him. The explosion had sent Hank flying backward and he landed down hard on his back causing the muscles to tremble from the impact. Judging from the severe, chronic ache in his head and the lingering metallic taste of blood in his mouth Hank knew had also been rendered unconscious by the blast, but he couldn't tell just for how long. A steady weight against his torso was indicative of heavy debris being knocked on top of him as the building's interior was torn to shreds.

"...Shit."

Using one hand Hank pushed aside a large piece of drywall that was resting over his chest and down to his hip as he slowly unburied himself as he laid alone on his back in the ruined corridor. Free of the pinning debris Hank coughed and tried to breathe through the heavy air as best as he could. Rolling from his back onto his hip he used his arm to push himself up from the ground as he gazed about the immediate area to take in the sight of the carnage, and to look for his two missing detectives.

It was dark and smokey making it difficult for the human to see, but not impossible.

Wires hung down from the unstable ceiling and sparked randomly in white and blue colors, creating brief flashes of light in the darkness. Thick pipes jutted outward from gaping holes in the walls, and dripped water or possibly leaked gas from being heavily damaged. The floor was littered with piles of debris that ranged in both height and depths depending on the material that had been collected in the mounds, and their proximity to the explosion.

"...C-Connor?" Hank called out as loud as he could, and coughed immediately afterward. Clearing his throat he called out again. "Gavin? Can you hear me?"

"H-Hey!" From somewhere behind Hank he heard a large portion of the debris get shoved aside as Gavin stumbled forward and joined him in the middle of the wrecked corridor. "Lieutenant... Fuck! You hurt?"

"A few bruises." Hank admitted as he ignored the trail of blood running down the side of his face from a cut over his left eye. The taste of blood in his mouth was still prevalent, but also went ignored. "How about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Gavin looked as beaten up as Hank felt. Numerous small cuts marred his face, neck and hands, but he was fully lucid and able to move about on his own with little difficulty. "What the hell happened?"

"What do you think happened, jackass? The damn bomb went off."

"Shit."

"Have you seen Connor?"

"No. I was looking for a way to get down the stairs when I heard you callin' for us."

"Stay here." Remaining in charge Hank ordered the hotheaded detective to stand back as he stood up slowly, and set off clumsily over the debris on the floor in the opposite direction from where Gavin had arrived to look for his missing partner. He had a little more difficulty in moving than Gavin thanks to his sore back, but he was managing to traverse the obstacles on the floor just fine. "I'll check the other end of the hallway."

"Whoa, whoa. You want to risk your life over a piece of-"

"Shut the fuck up, Reed." Without hesitation Hank snapped at Gavin and gave him a death glare over his shoulder. "He's my _partner_, dipshit."

"He's a machine!"

"And you're a piece of shit. That doesn't stop Fowler from giving you a paycheck, now does it?"

"...Whatever. If you want to waste your time lookin' for it, then by all means, go for it. I'm going to look for a way _outta_' here."

Annoyed but not deterred Hank resumed his search for his missing partner. Making very careful steps to ensure he didn't fall or disturb anything that could cause a second collapse Hank trudged through the corridor and checked every accessible area diligently before moving on to the next area.

"Connor?" Hank continued to call out for the unseen deviant android as he searched for him. "Connor? Where are you?"

As the senior detective ducked down under a low hanging support beam that had broken through the ceiling his eye caught sight of a faint red glow emanating from beneath a layer of debris just a few inches from where he was standing. The glow was blinking on and off slowly as if it were a pulse, or a signal. It was then Hank's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the source of the glow as an android's L.E.D. blinking in distress.

More alarming he knew it was Connor's L.E.D., and that his partner was in trouble.

"Connor?!"

Hank quickly fell to his knees, ignoring the painful protest of the joints as he knelt on the hard, dirty ground. Without hesitation he began hefting aside the slabs of drywall, splintered wooden support beams and shards of broken glass as he desperately dug his partner's body out from under the smothering pile of debris. The sight of the deviant android's uncovered chest did little to ease Hank's worried mind as Connor was unburied slowly, and carefully.

"Connor... No."

The wounded deviant android was laying on his back with his head lolled just enough to the left to let the red L.E.D. glow through the darkness created by the surrounding debris. His arms were splayed outward at his sides and his legs were straight, but pinned beneath a heavy chunk of the collapsed ceiling from above. A massive stain of blue tinted Thirium bled over Connor's white dress shirt atop his chest, but mostly over his abdomen. Additional blue blood ran from the corner of Connor's mouth and from his nose down his right cheek, dripping down onto the floor beside his head in a growing sapphire puddle. There was a massive cut along Connor's right cheek as well that oozed blue blood steadily as he laid motionless on the floor next to Hank.

"Connor?" With a light touch Hank patted the side of Connor's cold face, but the deviant android didn't respond. It didn't even look like Connor was breathing! Turning back toward the corridor where Gavin had been searching for their exit Hank called out to him as loud as he could. "Gavin! Get you ass over here!"

Bending his head down Hank pressed his ear to the center of Connor's chest and didn't budge until he heard the distinct heartbeat like thrum of Connor's Thirium pump in his chest still miraculously functioning. While his heart was still beating Connor wasn't breathing, and with that lack of respiration his core temperature was steadily beginning to rise to a dangerous degree.

"No, kid. Come on..." Uncovering Connor's right arm from beneath the pile Hank picked up the android's limp, cold hand and held it in his own as he called out his partner's name yet again. "Connor? Squeeze my hand!"

No response.

"Come on, Connor, I know you can hear me. Squeeze my hand. Just once!"

Still nothing.

Gavin rushed over the littered hallway as quickly as he could and stood behind Hank as he watched the senior detective rock back on his knees and proceed to try and push additional debris from atop Connor's torso. The massive Thirium stain spreading over Connor's chest and stomach made Gavin wince inwardly as he recognized the distinct blue tint as blood.

"Jesus..." Staying back Gavin looked down at the deviant android's body as Hank continued to unbury him. "is it... dead?"

"No! He's still alive." Hank turned his head slightly to look at Gavin, revealing the smear of blue blood staining the side of his face and gray hair from where he had rested his ear to listen to Connor's chest. Gently Hank placed Connor's hand back down on the floor beside him as he focused on the remaining debris to free his trapped partner. "But he can't breathe, help me move this junk off of him!"

"Breathe? What the fuck..."

Surprisingly Gavin did as he was told without protest or even hesitation. Working alongside Hank the two men managed to lift up and a slide the heavy slab of dirty drywall aside and away from Connor's body effectively freeing him. Without the weight pressing down against his torso Connor would be able to breathe on his own, but his body remained just as still as it had been since Hank found him.

"Connor?" Hank tried again as he put his hand down lightly on Connor's bleeding abdomen. The lack of motion beneath his palm made Hank's own blood run ice cold. "Come on, son, breathe! You need to breathe."

"Seriously he breathes?" Gavin stepped back at the horrific sight of Connor covered in his own blood. "Fucking piece of plastic can _breathe_?!"

"Come on." Hank begged as he kept his hand firmly in place on Connor's abdomen. "Just one breath, that's all I ask."

Connor remained motionless.

"Connor?" Applying a light pressure to Connor's torso Hank shook once and addressed the deviant android in a louder voice. Pushing down a little Hank hoped the pain or at least the motion would coax the wounded deviant android in resuming his respiration functions to some degree. "Connor, breathe damn it! I need you to breathe!"

A weak gasping sound escaped Connor's bloodied lips as he took in a shallow breath at long last. It was followed by another breath, then another as he slowly began to breathe at a steady but rapid and weakened rate.

"That's it." Hank encouraged as he released his own breath; a breath he didn't even know he was holding. The weak motion under his palm managed to ease his fears, but only in the slightest. "Good. That's good."

Hank pulled his now bloodied hand back as Connor started to breathe on his own, very rapidly and with great difficulty, but at least he was breathing again. With each shuddering, weak breath he took more Thirium began to ooze from beneath his bloodied shirt over his abdomen, only to pool onto the floor beneath his body in an ever growing puddle.

Gavin took another step back as the blossoming puddle of blood began to turn his stomach. "Shit..."

"We have to stop the bleeding." With his instincts as a first responder kicking into full gear Hank pulled open the buttons on Connor's ruined shirt to reveal the android's damaged abdomen beneath. "Ah, shit. Connor..."

"Oh, man..." Gavin put a hand over his mouth as if he needed it to keep himself from screaming, or getting sick at the gruesome sight. "How the fuck is it still alive?!"

A gaping hole in the middle of Connor's abdomen exposed the numerous delicate biocomponents, leaking Thirium lines and damaged wires within. A massive collection of lost Thirium had collected in his abdomen and had been seeping out over the edges of the opening as his abdomen steadily filled with his own blood. Small blue sparks were visible as the exposed wires sent misdirected signals throughout the android's body and into nothingness.

Massive shards of metallic shrapnel from the bomb, as well as the surrounding room, had become embedded over Connor's body. Unfortunately a majority of the carnage was seemingly focused primarily at his torso where an android's vital biocomponents were placed. There was evidently a second explosion that had detonated in tandem with the first bomb. The shockwave of the explosion was waist high, as if sitting on a table or chair, and as it turned out Connor was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Shit, he's bleeding internally." Hank realized with a sick grimace on his face as he paled in fear. "We need to do something fast."

Slipping his heavy coat from over his arms Hank set it aside and unbuttoned his bright blue shirt beneath it. Wiping the palms of his hands down over the untouched black t-shirt underneath the dressier shirt he was able remove some grime and debris that covered his hands to try to keep things as sanitary as possible. Taking a deep breath Hank hovered his right hand over the massive opened wound and prepared to drop his fingers inside the bloodied body before him in an effort to save Connor from irreversible shutdown.

"Okay, kid..." Talking more to himself than to Connor as a means of steadying his hand Hank prepared to do what needed to be done. "I have to do this."

Reaching his hand into Connor's opened abdomen Hank felt for the pressure of leaking Thirium and used it to guide his hand toward the most severe damage. Using his fingers Hank located the main source of the bleeding and pinched it off tight with his index fingertip and thumb. As he applied steady pressure he felt the bleeding stem, but he wouldn't be able to hold the pressure with his just his fingers and continue to help Connor.

"Gavin, I need your help."

"What?" The very idea of going anywhere near the bloodied deviant android was absolutely repugnant in his bigoted mind. "No way!"

"Yes. Come here." Hank snapped firmly as he used authority in his voice to make Gavin response. "Wipe off your hands. I just need you to slip off his tie and hand it to me so I can tie off the bleed."

"...Fine." Gavin kept hie eyes as far away from Connor's face as possible as he wiped his hands down over his shirt, and bent down over the downed android to loosen the tie from around Connor's neck. Once he had the dressy garment free he handed it over to Hank. "Here."

"Now," Hank quickly grabbed Gavin's wrist and made him kneel down on the floor beside Connor. Forcing Gavin's hand down into Connor's abdomen he placed Gavin's fingers where his own hand had holding off the leak for the past few seconds. "just apply pressure."

"Ah, man, this is so nasty!" Gavin moaned as he closed his eyes tight and tried not to think about the fact that his hand was inside Connor's bloodied body. The warmth and consistency of the Thirium felt exactly like human blood, and the feeling of Connor's weak breaths around as well as the rhythm of the deviant android's thrumming heart so close to Gavin's hand felt so eerily... human. "Sick!"

"Shut up!" Hank sternly scolded as he used Connor's tie to absorb as much of the leaking blue blood in Connor's abdomen as he could, before wrapping the tie itself around the leak just under Gavin's fingers. Using the strong fabric of the garment Hank was able to use it to tie off the damaged line; specifcially Connor's right ascending Thirial line, and keep Connor from bleeding any further. "Okay, let go."

Absolutely disgusted Gavin pulled his hand back from the blood like he was trying to avoid a snapping bear trap. Keeping silent Gavin shook off his hand briefly and opened his eyes as he wiped off the blood on his jacket, and watched as Hank expertly used the tie to stem the leaking line in Connor's abdomen. Hank wisely used the remaining slack at the ends of the tie to pack off the surrounding damaged bleeding biocomponents as well.

"That should hold for a while..." Carefully Hank retracted his blue stained hands from inside Connor's torso and sighed as a majority of the bleeding mercifully stopped. "That should be able to bide him some time."

"H-How the hell did you know what do? ...What the fuck?"

Hank gave Gavin a blank stare as he answered curtly from where he knelt. "Because I've experienced this once before. You never forget something like that." Motioning to the stairwell behind him with a thumb over the shoulder Hank issued his next order as he began tearing swatches of fabric from his blue dress shirt to use as additional bandages in Connor's abdomen. "Go back over to the stairs and find something to make some noise with. Let search and rescue know where we are."

"Y-yeah... okay."

Attentively Hank packed the added fabric from his shirt into Connor's abdomen to try cover as many of the visible injuries to his partner's biocomponents as possible. The sight of Connor's chest and abdomen rising and falling frantically was a bittersweet experience; it meant Connor was still alive, but it also meant he was in great physical distress.

Maybe even in pain.

"Just hang on, kid." Picking up his heavier coat from the floor Hank draped it protectively over Connor's broken body to shield his opened wounds from as much airborne debris as possible. Hank sat on the floor near Connor's shoulders as he put his hand beneath Connor's head and pulled the unconscious deviant android upward slightly, just enough to let him rest against his leg. "I'm here with you. It'll be okay, son."

The sound of Gavin shouting for help in the distance as he began banging a piece of debris, most likely a chunk of metal pipe, against the walls to try and make as much noise as possible to help the rescue team locate them as soon as possible echoed through the dim and damaged corridor loudly. Rhythmic banging accompanied with loud, demanding shouts created a loud commotion that was sure to drawn in any searching personnel to their location.

"Help's coming." Hank stated as he pressed his hand over Connor's forehead and absentmindedly ran his thumb through Connor's dark hair. With his other hand he picked up Connor's limp, cold hand again as he spoke to the deviant android calmly. "Come on, squeeze my hand. I know you can do it."

Connor's hand remained motionless in Hank's grip as the deviant android failed to respond to anything beyond the errors and emergency stasis mode he had entered upon being damaged.

"Shit... Just hold on a little while longer, okay? I'll get you some help."

Hank stayed beside Connor for the countless minutes that ticked into hours as Gavin continued to call out for help and make as much noise as he possibly could to draw the search party closer, quicker. The blank, peaceful expression on Connor's face reminded Hank of the way Cole used to sleep, it was actually one of the many ways Connor reminded him of Cole. But this particular moment was especially haunting.

After all, Cole was sleeping all those times but right Connor was unconscious, possibly dying.

Gavin pounded on the walls with his fist and the metal pipe as he continued to shout to the point where he was beginning to go hoarse from vocal strain. "Hey, hey! Come on! We're right in here!" Banging as hard as he could on the walls the Sergeant was determined to get out of that building alive. "HEY! IN HERE! HERE! Come on already...""

Intense flashlight beams suddenly shone through the gaps between the large chunks of debris that blocked the doorway to the stairwell and illuminated Gavin's dirty, bloody face in white light. Two male firefighters had finally located the three officers and were preparing for emergency extraction.

"Hello?" A loud, calm voice called out to Gavin through the gap in the doorway. "Detroit fire department. How many are in your party?"

"Finally..." Gavin sighed as he tossed the metal pipe aside onto the floor at his feet. "Hey, get us out of here! There's three of us in here!"

One of the two firefighters continued to address Gavin in a calm, authoritative tone while the second radioed for help to the correct floor. "Is anyone hurt?"

"Uh..." Gavin was at a rare loss for words since it meant regarding Connor as a person. "I'm okay, but my Lieutenant took a blow to the head, and his android partner is... uh... broken."

The second firefighter got on his radio again to request assistance to the floor, specifically for any available paramedic and technician to join them at the scene of the rescue.

"Alright, step back."

As the first firefighter raised his axe to swing against the debris blocking the stairwell Gavin wisely stepped back and rejoined Hank who was watching over Connor like a hawk. "They'll get us out of here in a few minutes." Sitting down on a large pile of rubble next to Hank the usually surly detective couldn't help but feel bad for Connor, who was still laying motionless in a puddle of his own blood on the filthy floor. "How's he doing?"

"Still alive." Hank stated firmly without looking away from Connor's face. "That's all that matters right now."

"Right... 'Alive'." The Sergeant nearly scoffed at the idea of Connor being a living person, but now wasn't the time to be a jerk or debate. "...Whatever you say, Lieutenant."

"You know Gavin, I can't tell you stop hating something or someone, but I can ask you to lighten up on Connor." Hank turned to look at Gavin with a stare of discipline, but not aggression or even anger in his dark blue eyes. "I know you hate androids, hell, I used to hate them just as much as you, but I can honestly say from experience that you're wasting your time and energy on hating them. They aren't just machines, they ARE alive. Connor is alive. It doesn't make any damn sense to hate something or someone just for existing."

Gavin didn't know what to say, or even how he could say anything at all. Instead he folded his hands together over his lap as he stared at the weeping cut above Hank's eye with mild interest. "...How's your head?"

"Killing me. How about you?"

"Landed on my back against something hard. Definitely going to have a bruise tomorrow, that's for sure."

"Yeah, same."

The blockage over the stairwell access door had been removed by the responding firefighters who aimed their flashlights at the trio gathered in the ruins of the corridor. Spying the large slab of debris that was pinning Connor's legs to the ground the two firefighters swiftly worked together to lift up, and set aside the heavy weight, freeing the trapped deviant android's lower extremities at last.

"You two," the first firefighter addressed both Gavin and Hank. "can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm good to go." Gavin admitted almost excitedly knowing he was able to escape. "Show me the way out."

Hank shook his head slowly as he chose to stay back. "I'm not going anywhere until my partner is safe."

The firefighter didn't like that response and tried to reason with Hank. "Sir, we have to-"

"Forget it!" Hank refused to budge as he kept his eyes on Connor's face. "I'll leave when he does."

"Okay, fine. I don't have time to argue!"

Grabbing Gavin's arm the first firefighter escorted the (slightly) more cooperative detective out of the corridor and through the stairwell to safety, while the second firefighter stayed with Hank and Connor. Kneeling down beside the bleeding deviant android the second firefighter ran his hands down Connor's legs to feel for any breaks or damage as he would with any human victim.

"Nothing broken," he drew back his gloved hands and saw that there was some Thirium staining his hands from the numerous cuts that lined all of Connor's lower body and back up to his abdomen. "but he does have numerous lacerations."

"It's not his legs you have to worry about." Hank reluctantly let go of Connor's hand, gently placing it back down on the floor, before peeling back the fabric of his coat to show the firefighter the massive abdominal trauma that Connor had suffered. "I stopped the bleeding, but he's already lost a lot of Thirium."

"Jesus..." Grabbing his radio the firefighter requested a gurney be brought up to carry Connor out and to have the responding technicians meet them up on the designated floor. Carefully, he leaned over the wounds and checked Hank's handy work without disturbing the injuries in the process. Putting his hand down on the center of Connor's chest he shook his head incredulously at the sight of Connor's rapid, shallow breaths and still beating heart. "How in the hell is this guy even still alive?"

"He's stubborn." Hank answered without missing a beat as he again picked up the deviant android's hand again hoping to feel Connor finally squeeze back. "I know you're not a technician, but level with me 'cop-to-firefighter', what do you think his chances are?"

"Honestly, I wish I could tell you. But I've never seen android so... broken like this, and still alive." He noticed that Connor's L.E.D. was still flashing in red which meant that Connor's systems were still functional, but the red tint and massive Thirium loss were all signs in the negative. "I'd give his odds... one in five."

"...I'll take that bet."

Two additional rescue personnel, each carrying emergency satchels slung over their shoulders, entered the decimated corridor with a gurney and backboard in tow. One was a paramedic to tend to Hank, and the other was a technician who'd work on Connor until it was time to move.

"Here." The firefighter stepped back and prepared the gurney for transport while the paramedic and technician set about their work. "The android's in rough shape, I don't want to risk moving him until he's been stabilized."

The paramedic, a younger man with blonde hair knelt beside Hank and began checking his pupils for any sign of severe head trauma while also wrapping his fingers around Hank's wrist to check his pulse. "Pupils are sluggish, but equal and reactive to light." The paramedic announced confidently as he assessed Hank's condition easily. "Strong pulse, tachycardic at one-hundred and forty."

The technician, a young long-haired brunette woman with hazel eyes, pulled aside Hank's coat and looked at the extensive damage to Connor's abdomen to begin her down assessment. Without flinching the technician reached into her bag and pulled out a massive white bandage wrapped in protective plastic to use in Connor's aid. Ripping the plastic bag open she unfolded the bandage to double its size before she placed it down over Connor's abdomen, then used strong medical adhesive to secure the bandage in place over his artificial skin.

Gently she tilted Connor's head still resting against Hank's leg to the left so she could fully see his L.E.D. faintly glowing before she put her hand on his chest to count his rapid heart beat. "Thirium pump is still functioning," she announced in a steady tone. "but his Thirium volume is dangerously low. He doesn't have the strength to activate his self-healing program on his own."

The firefighter observed the scene carefully before asking the next crucial question. "Can the android be moved?"

"Yes." The technician confirmed without hesitation to her soft voice. "But he needs to be lifted carefully otherwise it'll exasperate his internal trauma."

"Right, no problem." Clearing a spot on the floor the firefighter set down the backboard before moving over to Connor's legs. "Lift on the count of three."

Hank nodded as slipped his arms under Connor's shoulders and the paramedic put his arms beneath Connor's back for additional support.

"One," the firefighter counted down rhythmically. "two, three!"

Working in unison the three humans managed to lift Connor up from the floor just high enough to place him down against the firm support of the backboard without jostling him. The technician slipped the security straps attached to the board around Connor's legs, chest and shoulders as she was unwilling to put any unnecessary pressure over his damaged abdomen.

"Okay." She checked the straps one last time before she moved away to give the others some space to work. "He can be put on the gurney for transport."

Hank watched as the firefighter and the paramedic lifted the backboard at both ends and placed Connor down onto the gurney to be transported out of the building. Connor's head lolled limply as he was moved, but he didn't react to the motion on a conscious level, and his L.E.D. remained red in color.

"Almost there, kid." Hank reassured quietly as tucked his dropped coat under his arm and stood beside the gurney. The senior detective was watching intently as the firefighter and the paramedic secured the additional straps on the gurney to keep Connor completely stable as he was taken from the destroyed building and out to safety. "Just hang on a little longer, okay? I'm here with you."

* * *

All of the trapped personnel had been accounted for, and the evacuation was coming to an end.

Free of the bombed building Gavin was outside sitting on the bumper of the ambulance patiently allowing the second paramedic to clean the numerous and painful cuts that marred his face, neck and his hands. As his right hand was being wrapped up in a protective layer gauze to keep the swollen cuts in his palm from getting an infection he glanced to the front doors of the building waiting for any sign of Hank or Connor to reappear.

"Any word on the guys still inside?"

"Nothing yet." The paramedic sympathized as she pressed the gauze around his hand carefully. "I'll keep you posted if I hear anything."

"Yeah. Thanks..."

"Gavin." Captain Fowler spotted the injured Sergeant being treated at the back of the ambulance and approached him with a hasty gait. "You okay?"

"A few bruises and cuts, nothing major, Cap."

"What about Hank and Connor?"

"They were still inside when I was being taken out. Hank's a little banged up but Connor... he's in bad shape."

Captain Fowler immediately noticed that Gavin had referred to Connor as 'he' instead of 'it', which was either a sign of something very bad happening to Connor or a sign that Gavin had been concussed and was slipping up. "Where were you exactly when the bomb exploded?"

"Three floors down from the bomb itself. Do we know what set it off, yet?"

"Definitely a remote trigger. We're looking for the suspect now."

"We didn't see any deviants inside the building as we cleared it out. Did... Did anyone else get trapped inside?"

"Fortunately no, you three were the last ones inside."

"Guess that's something to be proud of."

The gurney carrying Connor was wheeled through the front doors of the barricaded building with Hank at his side and the firefighter, paramedic and technician working together to get the injured deviant android to safety.

"Shit. You weren't kidding." Captain Fowler could see even from a distance that Connor was in rough shape. "Gavin, you and Hank are going to go the hospital to get checked over. I'll meet you there in an hour or so."

"Right, Captain."

Captain Fowler walked over to the second ambulance, once designed exclusively for androids, as it was set to take Connor to nearest Android Emergency Care Facility. Moving quickly Captain Fowler headed Hank off before he could stubbornly try to hop in the back alongside Connor. "Hank, come on, you need to get checked out at the hospital."

"Jeffrey, I'm not leaving-"

"For now, you are. Just get cleared at the hospital, and then you can check in with Connor."

Before he could protest further the paramedic who had helped carry Connor outside the building put his arm out across Hank's chest to keep him from climbing into the back of ambulance after the technician, and more importantly going after his partner.

"Relax Lieutenant, Abby is the best technician I've ever worked with." The paramedic reassured him in a sincere tone of voice. "Your partner's in good hands."

Captain Fowler and the paramedic forced Hank to step back as the doors were slammed shut in front of the detective. Unable to see through the back windows to where Connor laying unconscious on the gurney Hank begrudgingly watched the ambulance speed off down the street with his still unconscious and dying partner in tow.

"Come on, Hank." Captain Fowler insisted patiently with true compassion in his voice. With the help of the paramedic he managed to coax Hank over to the first ambulance where Gavin was still sitting to receive addition treatment and eventual transport. "I want to know what the fuck happened in there before all hell broke loose."

"Yeah, sure..." Hank bitterly walked over to the ambulance to be examined as he answered Captain Fowler's questions about the bomb. "Not a problem."

* * *

Inside the back of the ambulance Connor remained completely unconscious throughout the transport to the facility. While Abby worked to replenish his dangerously depleted Thirium volume she reported on his condition to the facility via radio, informing the other technicians awaiting their arrival of the extensive, critical damage Connor had sustained during the explosion.

While she was on the radio Connor's back suddenly arched as he began to cough and choke on blue blood collecting in the back of his throat.

"No, no, no!" Abby reacted quickly and pulled a small suction pump from the storage compartment to her right and placed the pump in Connor's mouth to drain and remove the excess Thirium. She had to move swiftly before the blue blood collected in his ventilation biocomponent and caused them to fail on him entirely. "You're not dying in the back of my ambulance after surviving a bomb explosion!"

As Abby drained away the blood Connor steadily relaxed and he began to breathe slightly easier.

"Come on, now." Placing a small pillow under Connor's head and neck she lifted him up enough to keep the blood from collecting in the back of his throat a second time. "Your partner seemed really worried about you." Abby spoke to Connor in a very compassionate voice as she used her audioscope to listen to his battered chest carefully. "Don't disappoint him by giving up on us now."

* * *

Understandably frustrated, annoyed and in pain Hank angrily batted away the nurse's hand as she tried to adjust the bandage over the freshly stitched cut just above his left eye. Through the haze of his mild concussion Hank had already given his account of the events that had taken place, events that Gavin corroborated himself, and was now waiting to be discharged from the hospital so he could go check on Connor a few blocks away.

"I'm fine, stop fussing over me."

The nurse gave him a sympathetic glance as she pulled her hand back and decided to let him alone. "Okay, call if you need anything, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, sure."

Captain Fowler entered the room as the nurse left and folded his arms over his chest as he stared at his reputedly stubborn Lieutenant with righteous irritation of his own. "At least that nurse didn't run out of the room screaming. Nice to see you aren't taking out your frustration on nurses anymore."

"Not now, Jeffrey. Is there any word on Connor?"

"Yeah, I contacted the facility that's taking care of him. They had to replace a few non-vital biocomponents that had been destroyed by the bomb and give him almost four pints of Thirium, but he's going to be okay. The technicians also collected fragments of the bomb from his body for our boys at the lab to analyze."

"Jeffrey, I can see it in your eyes." Despite the concussion Hank was still as sharp as ever. "What aren't you telling me? No bullshit this time, just the straight, honest truth."

Captain Fowler took a deep breath and gave Hank the respect of telling him the truth as requested. "During transport he started to choke on Thirium, which meant he started to bleed again. BUT it was handled long before he got to the facility."

"...But he was still bleeding internally? Fuck."

"Easy, he's in good hands. You'll see."

"Jeffrey, just as the bomb went off Connor was saying something about the deviant, but I have no idea what he saw." Feeling rather despondent and useless Hank just let out a weary sigh as he stared at his commanding officer with utter fatigue glazing over his blue irises. "If Connor's in that bad of shape then we may never know."

"Hey, don't think like that."

"How can I not?"

"Look, the doctor said you're good to go." As he spoke he gave Hank a somewhat stern glance as if to say 'don't do anything stupid' as he spoke to the dedicated Lieutenant in a steady tone. "So go stay with Connor at the facility and we'll piece everything together at the precinct. Call me when he wakes up."

"Yeah, sure."

"I'll hail a cab for you. I don't want you driving with a concussion."

* * *

The red tinted L.E.D. pulsed slowly in tandem with Connor's heartbeat.

Slowly recovering and helpless Connor was laying shirtless, completely unresponsive and motionless on the exam table in the facility's recovery wing as his attending technician hovered close by. A tube of blue blood had been inserted down his throat to replenish his depleted Thirium volume to a stable level, a nasal canula was under his nose to keep cool, fresh air circulating through his ventilation biocomponents and a sensor pad was placed on the center of his chest. The sensor itself was connected to a Thirium pump monitor, the android equivalent to a cardiac monitor, to keep track of the rate of his heart as his Thirium pump continued to thrum rapidly to compensate for his low Thirium pressure.

In that moment Connor was suffering from the effects of android hypovolemia known as 'insipid shock'.

While the damage to his biocomponents had been repaired, some of the biocomponents replaced entirely, the artificial skin covering his abdomen had yet to regenerate over the exposed and repaired white plastimetal frame due to the strain of his self-healing program attempting to repair the residual damage to his internal systems. Additional gauze wrapping was placed over his otherwise exposed abdomen to keep foreign matter from entering his plastimetal frame or damaged Thirium lines until his skin could finally regenerate properly.

At long last Hank was shown into the recovery wing by the facility's receptionist, and was left alone with Connor. Leaning down over the table where his downed partner was laying Hank spoke to the deviant android kindly as if Connor was in fact conscious and alert.

"I knew you'd pull through, kid. But we still need to know what happened back at the building." Hank picked up Connor's right hand from the table and held it firmly in his grip just as he had done at the scene of the explosion. "You saw something before the bomb detonated, I know you did. What was it? Can you tell me what you saw?"

Connor was still quiet and unconscious despite his repairs and the sound of Hank's voice speaking to him.

"You were about to say something about the deviant, what was it?"

No response.

"Okay, kid, I can wait for you to tell me what you saw, but I can't wait to know if you can hear me." Squeezing Connor's hand lightly Hank raised his voice slightly as he spoke to his unconscious partner in a comforting tone. "Squeeze my hand."

Connor's hand remained limp in Hank's grasp.

"Connor, come on. I know you can hear me. Squeeze my hand. Please, I need you to do this, son. Just squeeze."

As Connor's hand refused to budge Hank was about ready to give up and let Connor be alone to rest, but a weak pressure around Hank's palm caught his attention. In a steady pulse Connor's L.E.D. flashed from red and back to a slightly healthier yellow.

"There you are, I knew you could hear me." Hank tightened his grip around Connor's hand put his other hand against Connor's forehead lightly. "I need you to squeeze my hand again, and open your eyes. Please kid."

Steadily Connor's glassy brown irises appeared between partially opened, heavy eyelids and stared blankly at the ceiling above. Blinking slowly Connor's body suddenly tensed up from the gnawing pain in his abdomen and he tried to move as if he could get away from it.

"Hey, hold still, you're hurt. Just look at me." Hank urged as he moved his thumb gently through Connor's hair; the rogue lock that always hung over Connor's left eye refused to be brushed back for more than two seconds at a time. The small direct contact and gentle voice was enough to get Connor to calm down and lay still again. "That's it. Focus on me."

Connor blinked again as his brown eyes slowly cleared and drifted over to Hank's face and stayed focused.

"I know you can't talk because of the tube going down your throat," Hank stated with an empathetic lilt to his voice as he kept Connor's focus on himself and off his current pain. "but I need to know what happened before the bomb went off. Do you remember what you saw just before the explosion? Blink if you can remember. Once for 'yes', don't blink at all for 'no'."

Connor's eyes moved from left to right a little before focusing back on Hank's face. Blinking once to acknowledge a 'yes' his eyes remained fixed where they were as he searched Hank's face needing some answers of his own.

"Good. You said something about a deviant just before the explosion. Did you actually _see_ the deviant in the room?"

Connor didn't blink.

"Okay, you did NOT see the deviant, is that right?"

Connor blinked 'yes'.

"What did you see then?" Hank's brow furrowed a little as a strange question popped up in his head. "Another person. Did you see another person?"

Yes.

"Not an android, though, a _human_."

Yes.

"An office worker?"

No response.

"A member of the custodial staff?"

No response.

"The report stated it was a deviant on the premises..." Thinking about the details and what they could've overlooked in their initial investigation Hank came up with a bleak theory to explain the situation as whole. "Wait, Connor, was the person you saw dressed to _look_ like an android? Is that what you saw?"

Connor blinked 'yes' again.

"Shit... I knew that neighborhood hated androids, but to think they'd make a bomb and blow up a building just to frame one..." Hank squeezed Connor's hand again in distressed aggravation. "If there was another person in the building then why didn't they find a body?"

Connor tried to speak but he only choked on the tube inserted down his throat. His hand reached up toward his throat and then his mouth as if he were going to try to remove it.

"Whoa, whoa, don't do that." Hank took his hand from Connor's hair and rested it on the android's chest near the sensor pad. "It's okay, we'll figure this out. The technicians removed bomb fragments from your body and they were sent to the lab at the precinct for analysis, will that help anything?"

Connor stopped fussing with the tube and blinked 'yes'.

"Good. What should we look for?"

Connor's eyes darted down suddenly then back up at Hank as he lifted his opposite hand and made a writing motion in the air.

"You can write it down?"

Yes.

"Perfect." Hank laid Connor's hand back down on the table as he took a small paper notepad and ink pen from his coat pocket. Clicking the pen he placed it in Connor's hand and held the pad as still as possible for him to write on. "Okay, tell me what happened."

Despite his weakness from his Thirium loss the injured deviant android managed to perfectly write and spell out every word, every detail in perfectly legible handwriting on the pad. When he finished he took his hand from the pad of paper and blinked again to let Hank know he finished.

Hank turned it over the pad to read what he wrote only to shake his head in disgust. "Great... Just great. I'll call Fowler and let him know what you uncovered. Just rest a little longer, okay? Then I'll see if I can take ya' back to the house to rest in private."

Connor blinked 'yes' and then let his eyes shut slowly to fall into his much needed rest mode.

"Good work, son." Patting Connor's arm lightly Hank quietly took his leave of the room to allow Connor to rest. "You did good today."

* * *

After an hour into Connor's recovery the technician who treated him, Abby, returned to the recovery wing to extricate the tube from Connor's throat. In that time Hank had called Captain Fowler at the precinct to tell him Connor's statement, and within that same hour the criminal responsible for the bomb had been located and arrested.

The criminal was in fact a human who had lost his job due to layoffs at the office thanks to poor profits, though he was convinced it was because of androids. The man had lost his job just two weeks before the Revolution and had been holding a grudge ever since. Attaching a spare L.E.D. to the side of his head the man entered the building disguised as a deviant delivery man with a bomb hidden in a package. He stashed the bomb in the ceiling of the floor that had been shutdown due to budget cuts, and hid in another room of the building to detonate it remotely.

Unfortunately the man's bomb had only partially detonated, which is why only the top floors of the building were damaged, not the entire building itself. Because the bomb failed to detonate at its full strength the man wasn't killed in the explosion as he had planned on, and had been forced to sneak out when the fire department checked the building for survivors.

The fingerprints found on the inside of the still intact bomb casing, as well as the remote detonator, connected the man directly to the attack and ensured he was sentenced to life in prison. Found hiding in his bedroom closet in his apartment the soot and smoke covered man surrendered without a fight.

"Okay, Connor. We can take this out now." Abby stated confidently as she began to slowly pull the tube out of Connor's throat. "Coughing will help and ease the pain. When I start pulling you cough."

Connor nodded weakly and began to cough as instructed by Abby as she removed the tube with a steady pull, and he instantly put his hand to his sore throat once it was gone at last.

"I got ya'." Hank put his hand on Connor's back as the deviant android sat upright on the table and caught his breath after coughing for a few more seconds. His abdomen was still wrapped up and sore, but he was able to move about with only modest difficulty. "You did real good. We caught the asshole responsible for the bombing."

Connor nodded slightly again as he responded with a very hoarse voice. "...G-Good." Too pained to speak in full sentences just yet, Connor pointed to the bandage over Hank's eye as he slipped on his tattered shirt white dress shirt with Abby's help, and then his dirty gray suit jacket over top. "...Hurt?"

"Just a cut. You're the one who got blown up." Hank sheepishly shrugged his shoulders a little. "_Mostly_, anyway."

"Move slowly." Abby removed the sensor pad from his chest as she helped Connor to slide down off the table and onto the floor. "Stay put and let your gyroscope recalibrate for a minute before you try to walk."

Abby spoke with the other technicians and gave him clearance to return home to rest provided that he had someone to keep a watchful eye on him in the event his system began to reject his replacement biocomponents. The bandages were to remain in place as well until his artificial skin fully regenerated, and his system ran the self-healing program entirely.

"Remember, you're still recovering." Abby needlessly reminded Connor gently as she kept one hand on his back to case he became dizzy. "Take it easy for the next forty-eight hours, and don't physically exert yourself in anyway. Rest and drink Thirium if your reserves dip below ninety percent."

Connor nodded to acknowledge her instructions as he took a single shaking step forward.

"Any weird side effects I should know about?" Hank asked in an almost fatherly manner as he watched Connor sway a little on his feet before he regained his balance. "You know, just in case he needs more help."

"Aside from fatigue," Abby replied nonchalantly to the logical question. "he might experience mild overheating as a result of the numerous replacement biocomponents that his system needs to fully register and accept after several cycles. Maybe a little Thirium rejection as well since so much of it was replaced in such a short frame of time."

"Oh. Sounds... interesting."

"If he overheats treat it like a fever and help him stay cool."

"Okay, that I can deal with."

"But if you think he needs to be re-examined by a technician, then here." Handing Hank a business card with an emergency phone number on it, Abby patted Connor's arm once and nodded at Hank as if to confirm she wasn't just blowing smoke. "I'm just a phone call away."

"Thanks." Hank pocketed the card and turned to look at his partner after giving Abby an appreciative smirk. "Come on, Connor." He put his hand on the still healing deviant android's shoulder to help guide him out of the facility, and toward the parking lot outside. "The car's out front."

Connor nodded again as he walked slowly, his hand pressed against his still sore abdomen as he took another step forward.

"You know, Captain Fowler said that because this nut-job tried to frame androids as the ones responsible for the bombing a massive donation of charitable funds toward New Jericho has been pouring in all evening from sympathetic pro-android supporters." The irony of the situation wasn't lost on either of them, and it actually amused Hank to an extent. "Turns out this guy's master plan was far from masterful."

Clearing his sore throat Connor's yellow L.E.D. finally turned transitioned back to its healthy blue color as relief fell over him. "...At least we know we have allies on the street. Not just at New Jericho."

"Yeah, you're right." Sighing with a heavy tiredness Hank stepped outside the front doors of the facility with Connor at his side. "By the way, since Gavin was also at the scene of the explosion Fowler gave him the responsibility of filing the report on this whole bullshit ordeal while we recover at home."

"Gavin's going to be pissed." Connor's voice was already regaining strength as his self-healing program kicked in. "Should we feel bad?"

"Don't worry about Gavin." Another grin appeared on his face as he and Connor reached the parked car outside. The evening air was calm and inviting at the two detectives entered the vehicle and took their usual respective seats in the front. "I get the feeling that after today he's going to start seeing androids in a whole new light."

"And why is that?" Connor fastened his seatbelt and flinched slightly as the protective strap over his sore abdomen tightened.

"Because I think today was the first time he ever saw an android as a living, breathing being." Turning the key in the ignition the car roared to life and pulled out of the parking and onto the street to head for home. "Not just a heartless machine, or a bunch of plastic."

"I'm glad that you already see me as such, Hank. I assure you that deviants do have hearts."

"Yeah, I know. I just hope I don't have to see your _actual_ beating heart in your chest ever again."

Connor lightly put his hand over his abdomen where he could feel the bandages under his shirt and agreed entirely with Hank's wish. "The feeling is mutual."

_**-next chapter-  
**_


	28. Body Modification

It was routine as usual for the two detectives as they clocked in for their morning shifts at the precinct, and fortunately it was a relatively quiet morning with only a few cases to catch up on after returning from their week long vacation at the cabin. What had started off as a two day getaway turned into seven days after the duo decided that the isolation and quiet had proven incredibly restful for the often overworked, over-stressed detectives. Luckily, Chris was more than happy to spend a few extra days taking care of Sumo on their behalf which helped keep the stress at bay all week long.

While Connor began cybernetically sorting through the case files that had piled up on their desks during their week long vacation an update from CyberLife popped up into his visual sensors causing his L.E.D. to flash yellow.

"What's up, Connor?" Hank noticed the change in Connor's L.E.D. and saw the blank, somewhat confused look on the deviant's face.

"There is massive software update from CyberLife that is available for cybernetic download."

"Yeah? Something wrong with that?"

"This update is almost one-hundred and four terabytes in size, which means whatever the update contains is massive and potentially life altering."

"Uh... What's the update for?"

"Unknown."

"_Unknown_?" Hank parroted with slight shock to his tone. "How's that possible?"

"There is no data available with the software update to inform me of its contents. This update was the final update that CyberLife had begun work on before the revolution. The update itself must've continued on through autonomous programming after CyberLife fell into bankruptcy."

"Well," Hank leaned back in his chair a little as he tried to comprehend the very idea of getting an update, let alone one from a less than trustworthy source. "can you get some answers from other deviants who've already accepted the update?"

"No." The deviant android shook his head a little. "It appears no deviants are willing to risk receiving the update."

"I honestly can't say that I blame them."

Connor's mouth twitched a little as he tried to make his decision regarding the update and his current, justified mistrust of CyberLife.

"Connor, it's your body and your decision." The gruff, but kindhearted detective reminded him. "If you don't want to get the update then don't do it."

"I don't even know what the update could possibly either do for me, or do _to_ me."

"Take your time and think about it. No pressure."

"...Yes. You're correct." Connor's L.E.D. transitioned back to blue as he dismissed the update notification for the moment. "I will wait for more information to become available before making my final decision."

"Hypothetically speaking: Can you remove the update from your system if it turns out you don't want it?"

"Yes. I can remove it as easily as I can download it."

"Maybe you can do a type of 'trial-run' of the update and not have to worry about making it permanent. You know, weight the fifty-fifty odds and flip a coin."

Nodding a little Connor agreed with Hank's logical alternative. "That is a very wise option to consider."

Captain Fowler walked up to Hank's desk from behind the detective and placed a small tablet down in front of Hank to read. "I need you to take the suspect in interrogation."

"What the hell?" Hank muttered as he looked at the small screen that had been presented before him. "It's not even nine in the morning, what's going on?"

"We got ourselves a 'red ice' dealer." Captain Fowler replied curtly as put his hand down on the paper and pushed it closer to Hank's hand. "This asshole is responsible for at least six overdoses since last night alone. There's three other people are in the hospital fighting for their lives as we speak."

"...Some life worth fighting for." Hank grumbled under his breath as he looked over the tablet. "They'll be brought back from the dead and immediately go out in search for their next hit, just do O.D. and come to in the hospital again."

"Knock it off, Hank." Captain Fowler scolded impatiently. "I hate it just as much as you. But you're the most experienced officer I have with dealing with these drug dealers, so do your job."

"Yeah, yeah... I'm on it." Rising from his chair Hank made his way over to the interrogation room while Connor remained at his desk to finish his own reports.

The update returned to Connor's visual sensors after only fifteen minutes, but there was still no information on the update itself. The size of the update was substantial and that alone was intriguing enough to entice the ever curious, ever attentive deviant into serious contemplation about downloading the new software. Finding himself unable to make a definitive decision either way Connor's hand instinctively went to the coin tucked away in his jacket pocket and began to dance it over his knuckle. As the metal disc graceful ran over his hand Connor remembered that humans had their own method of helping to make a decision when at a loss, one that Hank so helpfully suggested a moment before: flip a coin.

Connor easily slipped the coin from his knuckles over to the back of his thumb with the quarter resting face up.

"Heads, I will get the update." He told himself in a quiet voice. "Tails, I will dismiss it entirely."

Holding his breath Connor flipped the coin straight up into the air and caught it with his same hand in a tight fist as the coin fell back down to his grip. Turning his closed fist so his hand was resting palm upward Connor opened up his fingers and looked down at the coin: Heads.

Wrapping his fingers around the coin once more Connor slipped it back into his pocket as he closed his eyes and allowed the massive software update to download into his system at a steady rate. Resuming his work at his terminal Connor drew a few odd glances from other officers as his yellow tinted L.E.D. blinked rhythmically as the new software, the_ unknown_ software, began to advance Connor's already advanced programming to a new level that he had never experienced before.

After four hours of filing away his reports while Hank finally, mercifully, finished his interrogation of the suspect, Connor's L.E.D. cycled back to blue as the update finished its download and began to install itself automatically. The deed was nearly done, and Connor still had no idea what to expect.

"Come on, kid." Hank returned to his desk and leaned down heavily against his hands atop the desk's cool surface as he let out a deep sigh. "I need a break."

Connor nodded in agreement as he turned off his terminal and rose from his chair to join Hank on break. "I take it the interrogation was a success?"

"More or less." The mentally tired detective admitted with a slight shake of the head. "He confessed to making that lethal batch of 'red ice', then turned over four other dealers in the city, and then promptly pissed himself when I reminded him that one of the people who O.D.'d last night was the daughter of a gang leader. I feel bad for the custodians mopping up that puddle, but it was worth it."

"Why'd it take four hours, six minutes and fifty-two seconds to get a confession?" Connor asked as he walked beside Hank out of the precinct and to the parking garage.

"I had to wait a couple of hours for him to come down from his high and stop shouting about government conspiracies. Said something about the C.I.A. lying about rubber bands and their 'true purpose'."

Connor's brow furrowed in absolute confusion as he stood beside the car door with his grip on the handle. "What possible secondary purpose could rubber bands have that is so potentially dangerous?"

"Not a damn clue."

* * *

Even after having his lunch break Hank was still feeling tired from the lengthy interrogation and had no interest in returning to the precinct anytime soon. Choosing instead to patrol the block rather than head back inside the building Hank found himself already longing for the cabin outside the city and hiding out from the rest of the noisy, chaotic world around him.

"Summer will be over before we know it." Hank stated somberly as he watched a group of school kids running down the sidewalk in the direction of the community pool just a few yards away. "Maybe we could get one more weekend at the cabin before it's too cold to enjoy the lake."

Connor nodded a little as pressed his hand to the back of his neck. "It would be pleasant to return to the cabin soon, I agree."

"Already anxious for another vacation, Connor?"

"Not so much anxious about going back," Connor explained casually as he tried to process the bizarre feeling of fatigue that suddenly seemed to fall over him as a slight chill ran up his spine. "but I am eager."

"Hey... are you okay?" Hank turned his gaze from the window and locked onto Connor's face with utmost curiosity as he reluctantly pulled back into the parking garage. "You somehow look... _pale_."

"Pale?"

"Your face."

Connor pulled down the visor from the car's ceiling above his seat and looked at his complexion in the attached mirror. His normal pallor was indeed two or three shades whiter than usual. "It appears you are correct."

"How's that possible? I've only seen you look pale once before and that was because there was some problem with your fake skin forming fully because you were too weak from blood loss, or whatever."

"Correct." Connor confirmed as stared at his lighter pallor with a burning interest that made his L.E.D. flicker from blue to yellow. "It may be an unintended side effect from the-" Connor suddenly flushed a little paler as an upsetting thought settled in and stole his voice.

"Hey. What's going on?"

"While you were in the interrogation room I made my decision. I downloaded the update."

"You did?" Obviously surprised that Connor went for it Hank pressed for more details. "What's it for?"

"...Still unknown. But I suspect this new external reaction is directly related to the update."

"Can you run a self-diagnostic thing or something?"

"Yes." Connor's eyes closed briefly and his L.E.D. cycled rapidly for a few seconds as he initiated the program. Opening his eyes he blinked a few times before turning back to look at Hank. "The single anomaly my system has detected is a mild increase of my core temperature, which is common after a large update or program modification."

"You're sure?" Hank didn't wait for an answer as he pressed the back of his hand to the side of Connor's neck for a few seconds. "You do feel like you're starting to run a little warm."

"It's not a critical change in my core temperature." Connor reassured as he flipped the visor back up and removed the mirror from his line of sight. "But it might be best to check in with Joel. Perhaps he can decipher the updated software and identify the exact modifications it uses on android systems."

"Good idea." Hank agreed wholeheartedly as he motioned toward the precinct behind the parked car with a thumb over the shoulder. "Let's go get you checked out before Fowler has me playing 'twenty questions' with another drug dealer."

* * *

Like a human getting their annual check-up Connor had removed his gray jacket and unbuttoned his dress shirt while he was sitting on the exam table at the precinct dispensary. Joel was performing routine tests and examinations of his vital signs, biocomponents and software stability to determine exactly what the update affected. A long black cable was attached to Connor's L.E.D. and snaked back to Joel's laptop to allow the technician to check on the updated software that Connor had recently downloaded, and due to the immense size of the software it was taking a while for the laptop to analyze the full update.

Joel wrapped a Thirium pressure cuff around Connor's left bicep and a thermal band around his left wrist. Pressing the bell of his audioscope to Connor's chest Joel listened carefully to the deviant android's Thirium pump beating in his chest as well as his ventilation biocomponents circulating the fresh, clean air through his system to keep his core temperature at its optimum degree.

Hank watched from a light distance with his arms crossed over his chest and his back pressed up against the wall. "Well, Joel? How's he doing?"

"Aside from the shift in his pallor," Joel stated as he draped the audioscope around his neck and checked the reading on the pressure and thermal wraps around Connor's left arm. "he's suffering from mild overheating. But his Thirium volume pressure is normal, heart rate's normal, respiration rate's normal..."

Connor's brow arched inquisitively as he watched Joel's demeanor remain skeptical about his reportedly normal exam. "You seem unconvinced by these readings."

"I've never encountered a deviant, or android for that matter, who exhibited external reactions to a software update. I need to run a few more tests just for peace of mind."

"I understand." Connor had no objections to Joel wanting to be as thorough as possible.

"The upload is nearly complete." Joel motioned for Connor to lay back flat against the table. "I want to check a few more things, then I'll take a look at the software itself."

Obediently Connor laid back over the table and waited for Joel to resume the examination.

Placing his hands down over Connor's abdomen Joel began to press down lightly and waited to see if Connor had any negative or painful reaction to the applied pressure, but Connor didn't budge.

"No discomfort present in any internal core biocomponents." Joel noted keenly and stepped back from the exam table. "That's always a good sign."

Hank walked over to the exam table and watched as Connor easily sat upright again and rebuttoned his shirt. "How do you feel?"

"I feel relatively normal in comparison to my usual processing functionality. However, I do admit that I am feel slightly tired and I cannot explain why."

From his desk Joel gave Connor a possible answer as he typed away on his laptop. "This was a massive update, it very likely consumed a larger abundance of energy than you were ready to provide and your system didn't properly calibrate beforehand."

As Connor straightened his tie Hank handed him his gray jacket. Removing the Thirium pressure wrap and thermal band from his left arm Connor slipped the jacket back on over his shirt casually and prepared to leave the dispensary.

"Okay," Joel motioned toward the black cable still attached to Connor's L.E.D. "I got what I need. You can detach yourself from the laptop, now."

Reaching up to his right temple Connor carefully removed the sensor pad attached to his L.E.D. and let the cable drop to the floor beside the exam table. Jumping down to his feet Connor walked over to Joel's desk and looked at information being displayed on the terminal screen as Joel uploaded it to the official precinct files regarding deviants, androids and known updates.

"Looks like the purpose of this new software_ is_ to give deviants more human reactions and sensations on an external level. Your paleness could very well be imitating the same response as that of a human when experiencing an infection or fatigue."

"This is... normal?" Connor's hand pressed against the side of his face as his L.E.D. flickered between blue and yellow a couple times before settling on blue.

"Yeah. I'm not exactly sure how many external responses you've been given but as long as you continuously run self-diagnostics to differentiate between the updated software and malfunctions you should be able to adapt to these new sensations in time. I also suggest keeping a dedicated log of every new sensation you experience to ensure there isn't an abnormality in your system being masked by the update itself."

"How many deviants have uploaded the updated software?"

"At the moment; one. You."

Connor's L.E.D. flickered to yellow momentarily. "That's... unnerving."

Hank cleared his throat as he reminded Connor that he always had the option to remove the update. "If you don't like it, delete it, kid. CyberLife can't tell you what to do anymore."

Nodding a little Connor looked past the text on the screen and focused on his pale reflection with a hesitating glance. "I'll wait twenty-four hours before I make my final decision."

* * *

Returning home to a very happy Sumo after a strange shift Hank greeted the large dog with a gentle pat to the head while Connor sluggishly removed his jacket and hung it up on the hook by the front door. Hank couldn't help but notice Connor's uncoordinated, if not clumsy movements as he tried to go about his evening routine as normally as possible.

"Hey, Connor," Hank called out to him from across the livingroom. "look at me."

Connor slipped off his shoes at the front door and stood upright, his face now at least two shades paler than before and there were dark purple circles beginning to form under his eyes.

"Jeez, you look like shit."

"...I'm beginning to think this update is more of a hindrance than a benefit regarding deviants becoming more human than machine."

"Sit down before you fall down." The detective urged firmly as he pointed to the couch. "I'm going to let Sumo out for a few minutes and you're going to stay on the couch until your system finishes recalibrating that update thing, or whatever it needs to do."

As Connor walked around the edge of the couch to sit down he felt an odd sensation at his hairline that he normally only felt when he was standing outside in the rain, or showering off dirt. Running his hand over his hairline Connor looked down at his palm and noticed that very diluted shade of blue water droplets had collected on his skin from seemingly nowhere.

"...Hank?"

"Yeah?" Hank walked back into the livingroom after he let Sumo out the backdoor in the kitchen. "What's going on?"

Connor held out his hand for Hank to see the palm from where he stood just behind the couch. "...My hand's wet."

"Your... what?" A fine sheen over Connor's entire face as well as an accumulation of dampness under Connor's arms and around his neck was visible. Grabbing onto Connor's hand Hank looked at the odd blue tinted water on Connor's palm only to realize what was happening with an alarmed tone. "Shit... you're _sweating_!"

"S-Sweating?" Connor's L.E.D. flashed from blue to yellow and remained in color as he pulled his hand away from Hank, and looked down at the collected water on his palm. "Androids aren't... supposed to be able to... sweat. Must be an additional effect of the... update."

Hank pressed his own hand over Connor's forehead under Connor's rogue lock of hair and held it there for a few seconds as he felt the intense heat radiating from Connor's artificial skin. "You have a fever." Dropping his hand from Connor's forehead and onto the deviant's shoulder Hank shook his head worriedly. "Connor, you're sick."

"I'm... sick. _Actually_ sick." Connor was becoming frightened by all the bizarre changes his system was undergoing. "The update_ made_ me sick!"

"Yeah, kid." Hank kept his hand on Connor's shoulder as the deviant android began to tremble a little. "You need to go get some rest. Lay down and sleep, try to take it easy."

"...O-Okay, Hank."

"And," Hank let go of Connor's shoulder as the sick deviant android began to walk toward the hallway to enter his bedroom. A diluted blue dampness had formed in the center of Connor's back beneath his shoulders as he began to sweat profusely all over. "you need to change your clothes. You're all sweaty."

"...I don't think I like sweating, Hank."

"Yeah, no one does." Hank watched as Connor slowly disappeared into his bedroom to change out of his sweat stained clothes and into something clean and far more comfortable. "I'll bring you some ice to keep your fever down."

As soon as Hank returned to the kitchen he heard Sumo scratching at the backdoor ready to come back inside. Opening the door the massive fluffy dog trotted over the linoleum floor of the kitchen and promptly made his way down the hallway and barged into Connor's bedroom through the partially closed door.

"Damn dog needs to learn how to knock." Hank grumbled indifferently to himself as he pulled open the freezer and pulled out a blue bag of ice. Sitting it down on the sink he opened the cabinet above the sink to grab a bottle of extra Thirium to put inside the freezer before he shut the door. "And I need to learn to quit talking to myself..."

Carrying the bag of ice into the bathroom Hank grabbed a clean washcloth and ran it under the cool tap in the sink. Opening the medicine cabinet Hank picked up the digital thermometer and turned it on before wringing out the excess water from the washcloth and taking the chosen items into Connor's bedroom where the now sick android was laying down, and hopefully, getting some rest.

Wearing a black t-shirt and gray sweatpants Connor looked like any other sick human trying to sleep through a nasty bout of the flu. Connor himself was laying on his back on top of the covers with his eyes closed, and his head lolled slightly to the right as he rested head against the massive, thick pillow. His left arm was draped limply over his slowly rising and falling abdomen, and the right arm was laying straight out at his side. Connor's face was somehow even paler and the dark circles under his eyes appeared even darker. Sweat had left a sheen over his pale face and caused his dark locks of hair to cling uncomfortably to his forehead.

For the first time since Hank had known Connor and had begun patching up the deviant android after sustaining injuries or contracting illnesses while on the job, he looked truly human and frighteningly vulnerable. Even Sumo seemed to pick up on the strange changes taking place in Connor's system causing the ever loyal dog to rest his chin on the foot of the bed and watch Connor with massive emotional eyes.

Sitting down on the edge of Connor's bed the sick deviant android let out an exhausted, but acknowledging sigh as Hank pressed the back of his hand to Connor's left cheek and caused the ill android's heavy eyes to partially open. He straightened his neck a bit as he kept his head against the pillow as he looked up at the detective sitting at his side. Connor's L.E.D. was blinking yellow rhythmically without any fluctuation to the color at the same pace as his heart.

"Hank, I feel horrible."

"It's okay, son." Hank took the washcloth and smoothed it over Connor's forehead, brushing his sweat-drenched lock of hair away from his forehead in the process. "It's just a fever. You've been through worse."

"...I can't run any self-diagnostics, Hank. It's like my head is just... overwhelmed. Nothing is working as it should."

"Hey, don't worry about it." Pressing one hand over the compress Hank held out the thermometer with the other and lowered it to Connor's mouth. "Besides, we can check your temperature with this."

"...It's not as accurate as my own system." Connor replied like a stubborn child as he eyed the thermometer dubiously.

"Well, I sure as hell ain't going to take your temperature through the 'other way'."

"What's the-"

"Never mind, Connor. Trust me, you don't want to know." Giving Connor a stern glance he tried again. "Open."

Feeling too horrendous to try to argue his point any further Connor relented and opened his mouth just wide enough for Hank to place the device between his teeth and under his tongue.

"Hold it there for a minute." Hank instructed as he picked up Connor's wrist and counted his pulse. The sweat over Connor's arm left a cold, clammy feeling over top his artificial skin that Hank wasn't expecting. "Shit, you need to shower off after you're feeling better."

Knowing better than to talk Connor just nodded a little as closed his eyes again and let out another tired sigh.

"How's your head?" Hank asked as the thermometer beeped and he took it from Connor's mouth. "Shit, one-hundred and two point eight. If you were human I'd seriously consider taking you to the hospital."

Connor swallowed once before replying. "My head hurts, and it feels... strange."

"Strange how?"

"Like... Like everything I want to think about is just too much for my processor to comprehend. And the lights and sounds make my pain worse, and makes it even more difficult to concentrate."

"Sounds like you're on the verge of a migraine."

"I've had one before, as much as I disliked it the first time I can't imagine the second time would be any more enjoyable."

"Nope. Does your stomach hurt? You know, do feel nauseous for any reason?"

"No. There is no need to worry about possible Thirium expulsion at this time."

"Can you breathe okay?"

"Yes." Connor let out another weary sigh as his hand clumsily tried to wipe some of the sweat that had built up from his face. "It seems my only symptoms are overheating and intense intracranial pain."

"Get some sleep, okay?" Hank pulled his hand from the washcloth and lightly placed the bag of ice over top of the quickly warming compress. "I'll check on you every so often to make sure you're still alright."

"...Okay." Connor barely moved as he allowed his system to enter low-power mode as he initiated a manual override to fall into rest mode earlier than normally scheduled.

"Good."

Patting the foot of the bed Sumo eagerly hopped up onto the mattress as Hank commanded and circled around twice before settling down near Connor's legs. Opening up the closet door at the far wall of the bedroom Hank located the spare blanket that had been left folded atop the shelf inside and draped it over Connor rather than try to coax the ill deviant android into getting under the covers while he was feeling so terrible.

"Sleep."

As he exited the bedroom Hank pulled his phone from his pocket and sent a text to Joel to let the technician know that Connor was showing other side effects from the software update modifying his systems. Not wanting to worry Connor or accidentally stress out the already sick deviant Hank remained as quiet and discreet as possible while going about his own routine to try to relax.

Retreating to his laptop at the corner of the livingroom Hank set about researching the latest update provided by CyberLife, but there was little information available as no deviant was willing to risk uploading the software from the shady company into their systems. The lack of usable information was as frustrating as it was enigmatic.

After an hour of finding absolutely no information on the update Hank walked back down the hallway to check on Connor. Pushing open the door Hank saw that Connor had somehow become even paler and he was almost panting for breath. Sumo was whimpering a little as he pressed his cold wet nose against Connor's face as he could sense Connor's distress and wanted to help his ill master.

"Connor?"

Hank walked over to the bed and pushed Sumo aside as he laid his hand down over Connor's sweaty chest while brushing aside the warmed up washcloth and melted bag of ice to press his other hand down against Connor's forehead. Connor's L.E.D. was now blinking red slowly and made Hank very uneasy as he noted the critical shift on Connor's condition.

"Shit, you're burning up!"

Connor never opened his eyes or even reacted to Hank's presence. Breathing heavily and rapidly Connor's system was fighting to cool off his critically high core temperature as he began to sweat more profusely, but it wasn't enough.

"Get up, I need you to get _up_!" Hank ordered as he put his arm under Connor's shoulder and forced the unconscious deviant android into a sitting position. Moving his arm down to wrap around Connor's waist Hank grabbed onto the deviant android's limp arm and pulled it around his broad shoulders to pull Connor up to his feet, as Hank dragged him off the bed and onto the floor. "Connor? Connor if you can hear me say something!"

A weak groan escaped Connor's lips as Hank hauled him out of the bedroom and hefted him into the bathroom just a few feet away. Maneuvering as carefully as he could in the small expanse of the bathroom Hank carried Connor over to the bathtub and carefully laid the deviant android down in the white tub. Slipping his arm around Connor's chest Hank lifted the deviant up until he was sitting upright, his head resting heavily against the yellow tile wall behind him.

"Hang on, kid." Turning on the faucet Hank adjusted the water until it was lukewarm to keep himself from accidentally shocking Connor's prone system with a drastic change in temperature. Rushing back out of the bathroom Hank retrieved the thermometer from Connor's bedroom and knelt beside the tub as he replaced the device in Connor's mouth. "I hope some part of you is still awake enough to understand what's happening..."

The thermometer beeped and Hank stared at the alarming high temperature that had been registered. One-hundred and five point six.

"Fuck! I don't know how to help you, son. And I don't know anyone who can!" Setting aside the thermometer Hank set about awkwardly pulling Connor's damp black t-shirt up from over the deviant's head to toss it aside as well. As Connor's limp arms fell through the sleeves Hank shook his head at the sight of the deathly pale pallor that overwhelmed Connor's artificial skin. "No one knows anything about this update."

As the water rose higher in the tub Hank turned down the warm water and increased the cold water to cool off Connor's overheating form as gently, but quickly as possible. Pulling a towel down from the rack on the wall Hank folded it up neatly and tucked it behind Connor's head for some comfort. Checking the cool temperature of the water with one hand Hank reached up with the other to get a new washcloth and dipped it into the cool water before using it to wipe away the sweat from Connor's face gently.

"Come on, kid. Don't do this to me. You need to wake up."

Connor was still breathing rapidly, if not panting. The pale blue beads of sweat clung to his artificial skin and ran down his sickly pale face and into the tub as the water rose around him. Displaying a true father's care Hank pressed the cold washcloth against Connor's forehead and along his face to wash away the sweat and to provide even a modicum of comfort to the ailing deviant.

"Connor, you're going to make it. I'm going to see you through this."

Hank shook his head as he remembered taking care of his own mother when she had been diagnosed with cancer, taking care of his father when he had a stroke, and taking care of Cole when he was a toddler with the flu. It was all too painfully vivid and heavy in his heart.

"...I..." Connor mumbled in a slurring voice through the delirium that was clouding his mind. "I don't... w-want to... Amanda..."

"Connor, it's okay." Hank whispered calmly to his deviant android son as he tried to aid Connor as much as possible. "I'm here, Amanda is NOT."

"Amanda... please..." Connor's heart was beginning to race faster in delirious panic. "I don't... w-want to die!"

"Connor, you won't-"

"HANK!" Connor called out loudly, his body going tense and his limbs thrashing about wildly for a moment. As cold water splashed all over the walls and the floor Hank pressed his hand against Connor's chest to pin him down. "Please Hank!?"

"I'm here!"

"...H-Hank...?" Connor stopped fighting against his unseen foe and he fell silent as his body went limp save for his hastily rising and falling chest.

"Shh, it's okay." Hank insisted as he pulled his hand from Connor's chest and tucked it beneath Connor's head and rubbed his thumb against the deviant android's overheated cheek. "I'm right here, son. You're not going to die. I won't let you, alright?"

Connor's darkened eyes opened partially and his brown, glassy irises stared forward, unfocused and distant as they traced over the yellow tiles across from him.

"Connor? Look at me, son." Hank put his hand under Connor's chin and carefully turned the deviant's head to make the sick deviant look him in the eyes. "Hey, talk to me."

The glassy irises slowly cleared as Connor managed to recognize the face of the person who was trying to help him; the face of a friend. "...Hank."

"Yeah, that's right. Do you know where you are?"

"...Home."

"Right. Do you know what's going on?"

"...I'm overheating. I'm sick." Blinking slowly Connor's red L.E.D. briefly flashed to yellow before blinking back to red. "The update."

"Yeah, you got it. Connor, I need you to focus on me, okay?" Hank dipped his hand in the cool water in the tub and cupped a small amount in his palm to smooth through Connor's sweaty hair. "I know earlier I said having the update is your decision, but you HAVE to remove it. It's making you sick. Maybe even killing you."

Connor blinked again as he tried to process everything that was happening to him while also attempting to isolate the dangerous software update that was damaging his system. Unable to focus his programming accordingly all Connor could do was watch as Hank smoothed more water through his hair in a compassionate gesture.

"Come on, kid, I know you can do it." Hank encouraged calmly, yet impatiently as he kept running water through Connor's hair. "Please."

"...T-Trying."

"Alright, I have a better idea." Hank could see the strain even the simplest of actions were taking on the ill deviant android. It wasn't a matter of strength so much as it was a matter of time. "Let's get your fever down first and then you work on removing the update."

Nodding weakly Connor's eyes fell shut again as his hand absentmindedly lifted up from the rising water level of the tub and wiped at his hot, sweaty face.

Hank turned off the water in the tub as he grabbed onto another washcloth and dipped it into the water to wash off Connor's face on the sick deviant android's behalf. As the cool water rinsed away the clinging, pale blue sweat the water in the tub to gradually retain a pale blue hue as well. The paleness of Connor's artificial skin was alarmingly white, almost like death itself.

Sumo curiously padded into the bathroom and stared at Connor in the bathtub for only a moment before plopping down on the floor next to Hank as the detective shifted his weight so he could sit on the floor and take the weight off from his aching knee. Connor's eyes remained closed making him appear unconscious, but every so often his hands would fidget or he'd turn his head a little as he waited for the chilly water to cool his core temperature enough to function.

"Talk to me, Connor." Hank pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at the time. Taking the thermometer from the edge of the sink he placed the device between Connor's teeth again. "Stay awake for me."

Connor's eyes partially opened into half-lidded slits as he glanced over toward Hank again. "...I'm awake."

"I need to check your fever again, hold that in place for a minute."

Obediently Connor remained as still as possible and waited for the digital thermometer to beep.

Hank's phone suddenly buzzed as a message from Joel appeared on the display. Picking up the phone Hank scanned over the message and shook his head a little at the information that Joel had uncovered.

"Well, kid, you're not alone. About two dozen other deviants in the city had accepted the update and are just as sick as you are. One of the receptionist deviants at the precinct got sick about an hour after you did, and Joel's been taking care of her ever since."

The thermometer beeped and Hank pulled it from between Connor's teeth.

"One-hundred three point two. Slight improvement."

"...Has..." Connor fell away from the wall and leaned against the side of the tub toward Hank, his arm hanging over the edge and his chin resting against the white surface as he tried to remain alert. "Has anyone at New Jericho Tower gotten ill?"

"I don't know. I haven't called Markus to ask him if he knows what's going on."

A sudden knock at the bathroom door made Hank turn around quickly and caused Sumo to bark once in response to the arrival of the unexpected guest. Simon was standing in the opened doorway with a technician's satchel over his shoulder and a focused stare in his eyes as he observed Connor's complexion and Hank's overall demeanor.

"I'm sorry for stopping by unannounced, but Markus insisted I check in on Connor regarding the CyberLife update."

"Perfect timing. Come on in, Simon." Hank urged as he stood up from the floor and grabbed Sumo by the collar to lead the large dog outside. "I've been doing everything I can think of to help him, but it's not enough."

Simon stepped aside as Hank pulled the dog outside the bathroom to try to make more room to move about. "Actually, Lieutenant, your methods have been proven as the most effective in treating the intense overheating that the update has caused."

"That's not as comforting as I would've liked."

Entering the bathroom with a slight grin Simon knelt down beside the bathtub and pressed his two forefingers against the sick deviant's red L.E.D. for a few seconds. "How long have you been overheating, Connor?"

Connor blinked once and shook his head a little, unable to accurately to respond.

Hank returned to the bathroom and leaned his back against the sink. "He was starting to run warm just after one this afternoon, then he started to run hot just after five. His temperature peaked at one-hundred and five point six, and he's been like this for the past three hours now."

"Time frame is consistent with the other affected deviants I've examined."

"...Markus?" Connor slurred a little as his brown eyes trailed over to Simon's face slowly.

"And North. But they're both fine now."

"...You removed the update?"

"No, I just treated them for overheating and corrected the glitch in the update that caused the overheating to begin with."

Simon put his satchel on the floor and opened the massive pouch as he began rummaging through the equipment stored inside. Locating the thermal wrap tucked away neatly in its designated place Simon wrapped the device around Connor's wrist of his arm hanging over the edge of the tub, then pulled out the audioscope to listen to Connor's heart by running the bell over his upper back instead of his chest.

"Your heart rate's a little fast, but you're not in any danger. Your breathing is also stable." Draping the audioscope around his neck Simon asked about Connor's symptoms. "You've begun sweating, right?"

"...Yes."

"And you're experiencing an intense headache, too?"

"...Yes. I can't run a self-diagnostic or initiate my other programs."

Clearing his throat Hank added on another symptom. "His fever got so high he became delirious for a moment, too." Hank watched Simon carefully as the blond android placed the audioscope back in the satchel and check the thermal wrap on Connor's wrist. "Do you know why he's so sick?"

"I do." Simon confirmed as he took a small digital display from the satchel and powered the device on. "The update was meant to make all androids exhibit more humanoid physical responses to external stimuli as well as internal malfunctions; it was CyberLife's attempt to simplify identifying malfunctions for those who aren't technicians. The update automatically causes the thermal regulator to increase the core temperature to enable the artificial perspiration program to test it, but a glitch prevented the thermal regulator from returning to its normal setting after the system recalibrated. The result was one nasty bout of overheating and an increase in Thirium pressure in his cranium."

Hank shook his head a little and shrugged his shoulders. "I sure as hell hope I wasn't meant to understand any of that."

Connor blinked slowly and moved his gaze upward toward Hank. "...My fever and headache was caused by a glitch. Simon can correct it."

"Oh. Now _that_ I can understand."

Simon looked a little embarrassed but remained focused on Connor. "You were perspiring profusely and the perspiration itself is the result of diluted Thirium exiting through your most external and thinnest Thirium lines that connect to your artificial skin once the skin itself regenerates over your frame. You'll need some fresh Thirium to replenish what you've lost, but you'll be just fine."

"I'm on it." Hank volunteered as he stepped out of the bathroom and returned to the kitchen to get bottle of Thirium he had already stored in the freezer.

"Your headache," Simon continued casually he carefully lifted Connor's heavy eyelids to check his pupils. "is the result of your low Thirium pressure, and it's why you can't run any of your more advanced programs."

"...How long until my core temperature returns to normal?"

"Once I activate this software patch," Simon held up the small display screen toward Connor's L.E.D. with a light pressure. "the glitch will be corrected and your thermal regulator will return to its optimal temperature within the next thirty minutes."

"...I'm ready whenever you are."

With the chilled Thirium in hand Hank returned to the bathroom again and watched as Simon uploaded the patch into Connor's system to remedy the glitch that had left the deviant so suddenly sick. Connor's eyes closed slowly as his L.E.D. flashed to yellow then cycled back to red after the upload was completed.

Simon put aside the small screen and glanced up at Hank with a confident stare as the detective returned to the bathroom. "He'll be fine. He no longer needs the cooling measures you've applied."

Hank's shoulders slouched with unspoken relief. "Thanks for helping Simon. I wasn't sure what else I could do."

"You did everything correctly. Just let him rest and he'll be back to optimal function within the hour." Packing up his satchel Simon excused himself from the presence of the two detectives. "I need to deliver this patch to the facilities in the city to aid other affected deviants."

"Yeah, I get it, thanks." As Simon took his leave of the house Hank grabbed a giant fluffy white towel from the nearby shelf mounted on the wall and knelt down beside the bathtub. Pulling the plug in the tub Hank watched as the cool, slightly blue tinted water drained then draped the towel around Connor's shoulders. "Think you can stand?"

Connor's eyes opened heavily and he looked over at Hank with a fleeting alertness in his focus as his red L.E.D. shifted to yellow. "...I can try."

Offering Connor his hand Hank stood upright and took a firm grip of the deviant's accepting hand and pulled him upright slowly until Connor was standing on his shaking legs. Hank pressed the towel against Connor's shoulders and back as the deviant stepped over the edge of the tub and set foot on the small mat covering the linoleum floor.

"Walk slowly, kid. Don't push yourself too hard." Hank pleaded as helped Connor to walk out of the bathroom and back into his bedroom. "Are you cold?"

"...Not really. I'm just tired."

"Put on some dry clothes then lay down on the couch."

"What's wrong with laying on my bed?"

"You already sweat all over it. That's not healthy."

"Thirium will evaporate."

"Don't care. It's still gross."

Connor nodded and walked into his bedroom, the towel falling from his shoulders and back as he walked forward revealing the faint, lingering scars from his previous injuries. Scars that had never been there before, but were suddenly visible and agonizing to look at.

Another unfortunate side effect of the update.

Forcing himself to look away from the scars on Connor's back Hank grabbed the bottle of Thirium from the bathroom sink and carried it into the livingroom for Connor to drink later on. Sumo was laying in his bed in the corner of the livingroom watching Hank's every move curiously, his tail thumping rhythmically over the hard floor as just the presence of his owner was enough to make the fluffy dog happy.

Slipping back down the hallway Hank grabbed the spare blanket from the closet and draped it over the back of the couch as he listened to Connor's unusually heavy footsteps as he made his way back down the hallway with a clean navy blue t-shirt and pair of black sweatpants in place of his wet clothing.

"You still got that wrap on your wrist, right?" Hank asked curiously as Connor finally joined him in the livingroom.

"...Correct." Connor looked down at the wrap and noted his temperature had dropped down to one-hundred point nine degrees. "My core temperature is stabilizing."

"Your color is looking better, too."

"Color?"

"You're not as pale anymore."

"Oh..." Connor sat down on the couch and immediately had Sumo up from his bed and eager to get his ears rubbed as he pressed his chin down atop Connor's knee. "I understand the term, now."

"Here." Hank threw the blanket around Connor's shoulders and joined the deviant on the couch. "Strange seeing you respond so humanly to illness. I have to admit, I was a little freaked when I saw you pale, sweating and unconscious."

"I apologize for frightening you."

"Connor, how many times do I have to tell you to NOT apologize for getting sick or hurt?" Handing Connor the bottle of Thirium with a steady motion Hank leaned back against the soft couch cushion and propped his feet up on the coffee table in front of him. "Besides, this was from a glitch in some shitty software. You couldn't help it."

"Yes. That's why I'm currently in the process of deleting it from my program."

"You're sure you really want to do that?"

"...Yes." Connor drank a little of the Thirium and paused as his system began to recalibrate his registered Thirium volume and pressure. "Even if I hadn't become sick I believe I still would be uncomfortable with all of the physical changes the software had caused. I'm not ready to be so... human. At least not yet."

"Like I told you before; it's your body, it's your decision."

"I wonder how the other deviants are responding to the update?"

"Maybe you can check in with Markus and North at New Jericho tomorrow."

"That might prove beneficial." Connor's L.E.D. flickered from yellow to blue at long last as the software had been removed from his system quicker and easier than it had been installed. "The update has been successfully removed."

"How do you feel?"

"I feel... better. More like myself"

"That's what's important, kid."

"How do humans cope with such horrid physical and emotional feelings so frequently?"

"We get used to them, that's all." Hank replied in a curt, matter-of-fact tone of voice as he gave Connor's forehead a final fever check. "Through either patience or necessity, we just fuckin' get used to it."

"I don't think I want to get used to feeling so vulnerable or weak."

"Good. Don't." Hank watched as Connor nervously fumbled with the Thirium bottle in his still mildly trembling hands, before he himself rose from the couch and strode down the hallway. "Finish that off, then rest for a while to make sure you're functioning at one-hundred percent. I'll go throw your sheets in the washer."

"I'll take care of it, Hank." Connor shouted loudly down the hall after the detective. "Don't worry about cleaning up after me, I'll take care of the laundry."

"I can handle some laundry, you stay there." The detective shouted back firmly. "Besides, I always worry about you." Hank mumbled to himself as he disappeared into the bedroom. "That's what families do."

_**-next chapter-**_


	29. Water Torture

While on patrol Connor and Hank had stumbled across an attempted kidnapping of a deviant android, and reacted quickly. The deviant victim had been rendered unconscious by a stun-gun and couldn't move or run away, and her stronger, male abductor had no problem hefting her body around over his shoulder. Seeing two detectives with their guns drawn had caused the man to drop his would-be victim onto the sidewalk as he fled from the scene with Connor in pursuit.

Hank stayed back with the victim and called in for technical assistance while reporting the near crime, and watched as his partner sprinted after the man down the sidewalk and out of sight.

"Get him, kid." The senior detective encouraged as the deviant took off in pursuit. "Don't let that bastard get away."

Rushing after the failed abductor as quickly as possible Connor managed to catch up to the man and clamp his hand down on the man's shoulder to pull him backward, and get him to stop. "STOP!" Connor shouted and pulled out his badge as he announced his position. "DETROIT POLICE!"

However the man didn't stop when Connor pulled on his shoulder, instead he turned around quickly and presented Connor with the same stun-gun he had used on his first victim and directed an effective electric shock direction to Connor's Thirium pump.

The deviant's body failed him as the shock caused his artificial muscles to seize and his heart to stutter into a sudden arrhythmia in his chest. Collapsing backward onto the sidewalk with a heavy 'thud' Connor's head struck the sidewalk causing a bleeding wound that stained the ground blue beneath his skull. Connor's L.E.D. flickered a distressing yellow and his eyes closed as his system entered emergency low-power mode against his will, his badge dropping from his hand and onto the sidewalk beside him.

Having subdued Connor with a single shock the man pocketed his stun-gun and loomed over Connor with a wicked sneer on his face. "You're worth more than some 'Eden Club' whore."

* * *

Staying with the victim until she was loaded into the back of the android unique ambulance Hank glanced about expecting to see Connor returning with the suspect in handcuffs at any moment, and yet he saw no one. Walking down the sidewalk in which the suspect fled with Connor in pursuit Hank attempted to track down his missing partner and try to figure out what was taking so long.

"Connor? Where the fuck did you-" Spotting something metallic and glinting on the sidewalk next to a blue puddle Hank walked over to investigate it and felt his stomach knot at the the sight. "Fuck!" Grabbing onto the dropped item in question Hank's fears were confirmed when he recognized the item as Connor's badge, and that meant the blue puddle was Connor's blood. "Connor, where are you, kid?"

Peering around the area with an intense gaze Hank saw a trail of Thirium dripping on the sidewalk a few paced away from where he found the badge and quickly followed after. The trail led Hank down two more blocks before it stopped short and collected in a small patch next to the street, indicating that Connor was put inside a vehicle and drive away from the scene of the attack.

"Fuckin' hell!" Pulling his phone from his pocket Hank called the precinct and requested assistance at his current location. "Don't worry, kid. I'll find ya'!"

* * *

Laying on his side on a cold, concrete floor with his wrists bound behind his back in strong zip-ties Connor regained consciousness and opened his eyes. Greeted by continuous darkness that was only illuminated by his yellow flickering L.E.D. Connor blinked a few times and realized he had a thick burlap sack over his head to keep him from seeing his immediate surroundings. As he lifted up his head Connor was met with a swift kick to his abdomen that stole his breath and made him futilely curl around himself as he coughed harshly.

"Now that you're finally awake the fun can begin."

Connor felt two strong hands clamp down on his shoulders and drag him across the concrete floor and over to a metallic tank filled with some kind of liquid. Being forced into a kneeling position in front of the tank, one that was similar to a bathtub in width and length, Connor was unable to break away from the man's hands gripped to the back of his neck and the back of his head.

Unable to perform a direct analysis with his hands secured behind his back and his vision obstructed Connor used his other senses to figure out what the liquid was: The lack of odor didn't help much, but considering the man's voice wasn't muffled behind a protective mask told Connor that the liquid wasn't corrosive or toxic, and the small amount that had splashed onto floor had absorbed into Connor's jeans without harming him.

The tank was apparently filled with water, but for what purpose he didn't know.

"You're a plastic pig that busted up my 'red ice' ring downtown." Tightening his grip on the back of Connor's head the man began pushing Connor forward toward the tub of water and snarled angrily under his breath. "You cost me a lot of money!" Pushing Connor even closer to the water the man's grip became painful and his intentions more sinister. "AND you put my brother in jail. Tell your pig friends to release my brother and then I'll release you."

"...I cannot do that. You need to turn-"

"WRONG ANSWER!"

Forcibly dunking Connor's head into the cold water the man held the deviant under the surface and refused to let up on his strength as the deviant struggled against the grip to try to get back out of the water and catch his breath. Connor tried to hold his breath to keep water from entering his ventilation biocomponents but the motion of forcing his head into the water was so fast and strong that Connor was unable to keep himself from accidentally inhaling a generous amount of the water as it quickly soaked through the burlap sack over his head.

Pulling Connor's head back up the man sneered at the faint glow of the red light flickering through the burlap sack and knew Connor was feeling distressed, if not frightened. "Let's try again." Hold Connor up from the water he barked at the deviant detective in a low growl and demanded that Connor obey his impossible demands. "Free my brother, and then I'll free you."

Connor coughed a little and forced his voice to stabilize. "That's not going to happen."

"Wrong." Forcing Connor's head back into the water the man seemed to relish in Connor's discomfort, then pulled him back up. "Again. Free my brother."

"This..." Pausing a moment to spit the water from his mouth Connor responded defiantly. "This will not end well for either of you."

"I can do this all day..."

Dunking Connor's head back down into the water the man held Connor's head under the water about ten seconds longer than he did the first time. As before Connor tried and failed to break free of the man's grip and inhaled an uncomfortable amount of water into his artificial lungs, and unintentionally swallowed a dangerous amount into his artificial stomach.

Pulling Connor back up from the smothering water the man put his mouth right next to Connor's ear. "Free my brother."

Coughing and sputtering as water poured out of his mouth and ran down his chin beneath the sack Connor defied the order. "...N-No."

"Fine. You're plastic." Forcing Connor's head back under the water the man held the deviant down even longer on the third dunk. "You'll break eventually."

* * *

Anxious and pissed off Hank stood beside the sight of the abduction and spoke to Chris as the young officer arrived as requested. The duo checked over the scene for any sign of Connor, or where he may have been taken, and were running out of leads fast. There had been no witnesses, or at least no witnesses that were willing to come forward and give a report, and Connor couldn't seem to make a cybernetic call for help after being stunned by the abductor.

"We need something, ANYTHING, to find him." Hank paced about with his hands on his hips as he stared at the evaporating Thirium on the sidewalk. "That deviant he tried to kidnap told me that our suspect had been seen stalking the area for months, and every time he appeared a deviant in the area would disappear."

"Think he's an android serial killer?"

"Without any bodies to connect him to any murders we can't make that type of conclusion."

"And your victim didn't see the vehicle he was driving?"

"No. The deviants in the area only see him, never what he drives." Hank paused for a moment and gave Chris a 'eureka' type of stare. "Chris, get a record of all the autonomous cabs in the area. Find one that stopped right here and trail it's G.P.S. coordinates so we can figure out where the passenger went."

"Yeah... Yeah, okay! That makes sense!"

Watching as Chris rushed over to his squad car to get the vital information he needed Hank let out a deep sigh and tried to settle his nerves. "Hold on, son. We're going to find you."

* * *

Warning popped up in Connor's red tinted visual processors as more and more water entered his artificial stomach and lungs against his will, and steadily began to drown him in the water being forced down his throat with each smothering dunk of his head. Losing his strength quickly Connor couldn't break free of the man's grip and couldn't keep his head above the water as the man held him down beneath the surface for minutes at a time, keeping Connor down until the deviant's body began to relax and the bubbles escaping the deviant's mouth and nose began to cease.

Pulling Connor up one last time the man stared at the completely drenched deviant under his hand and sighed. "My arm's getting tired. How do you feel about freeing my brother, now? Hm?"

Connor coughed a little and spit out as much water as he could against the sack over his head before he answered in a shaking voice. "...I thought... you said you... could do this... all day."

"A piece of plastic with a smart mouth. It's a shame I have to kill you."

"Go... Go to Hell!"

"See ya' there..." Dunking down Connor's head into the water for the final time the man put all of his weight against the back of Connor's head, neck and shoulders to ensure the deviant was completely submerged under the surface.

Connor closed his eyes and tried to enter rest mode to prevent himself from feeling any pain as more water entered his lungs and stomach, but the warnings prevented such a feat from happening. As more and more water entered his artificial lungs and began suffocating him in a horribly conscious manner Connor's vision began to darken, his strength ebbed away and his senses shutdown one by one.

"You should've-" The man was caught off guard as someone snuck up behind him and forced his own head down into the water, forcing him to let go of Connor.

"Piece of shit!" Hank growled as he held the man under the water and watched as Connor's limp body remained in the water, and a frantic amount of bubbles rise to the surface as the man assailant struggled under Hank's hand. "You're a dead man!"

"Hank!" Chris shouted Hank's name rather than his rank in order to get his attention. "Take care of Connor! I'll arrest the suspect!"

Begrudgingly Hank let go of the man rather than drown him as he wrapped his arms around Connor's chest to pull the deviant backward out of the water and held the deviant up against his legs as Hank knelt on the floor. Pulling the sack from Connor's head Hank patted the deviant's cold cheek and saw that Connor's L.E.D. was cycling a very pale red, almost pink, color.

"Connor! Connor, open your eyes!" Lean his ear toward Connor's mouth and nose while Chris slapped a pair of handcuffs on the abductor and led him out of the room, Hank failed to hear or feel any breaths escaping the deviant's body. "Fuck!"

Laying Connor down on his side on the floor Hank used his car keys to slip a strong metal tool between the zip-ties around Connor's wrists and snapped the ties to free Connor's arms from around his back. Rolling Connor so he was now laying flat on his back Hank pulled open Connor's dress shirt with a strong tug and placed both of his hands down flat on the deviant's chest and pushed down to try to force the water out of Connor's ventilation biocomponents.

A small trickle of water oozed out of Connor's nose and from the corners of his mouth with each compression of Hank's hands against his chest, and with those compressions his L.E.D. would glow a little brighter for a moment, before resuming its dull illumination. Water puddled all around Connor's body at an alarming rate, but the deviant failed to take in a breath.

"Come on, son..." Pressing down over and over again Hank worked to revive his partner and keep him from submitting to death. There was some resistance to his compressions as the water inside Connor's body proved to be stubborn nuisance to remove. "I need you to breathe for me. I know you can do it."

More and more water began to pour from Connor's mouth as the compressions slowly forced out the water, but it wasn't until Connor responded with a deep physical cough that a torrent of the water began to escape. His artificial lungs and artificial stomach rebelled against the dangerous amount of water that had accumulated in his biocomponents, and forced it out of his body in a single, violent reaction.

"That's it!" Rolling Connor onto his side to keep him from choking on the very water he had just coughed up Hank patted Connor's back a few times and watched as the deviant easily coughed and spat out almost a full gallon of water from his body as it escaped his lungs and his stomach. "Holy shit. Just keeping coughing, kid. You're going to be okay."

Connor coughed again and took in a shuddering breath before he threw-up a generous amount of Thirium along with the water.

"Easy, easy... I gotcha'. You're okay." Watching as Connor wrapped his arms around his abdomen Hank noticed that Connor was now in pain. Even at the angle Hank could see that Connor's stomach had been distended from the ingested water and now understood why the deviant was coughing up so much water, and in a righteous amount of pain. "Got a belly full of water, huh? Just let it all out. Trust me, I've seen freshman puke more than this after one beer; so keep it up."

A final bout of sickness caused Connor to paint the floor blue and his L.E.D. to finally flicker back to yellow. Taking in deep, comforting breaths Connor opened his eyes and glanced up at Hank's face as the senior detective hovered over him. "...H-Hank?"

"Right here, son. I'm right beside ya'."

"...You found me. How?"

"The idiot took a cab and forgot about the G.P.S. recording his moves."

"...Thank you."

"You're welcome." He patted Connor's shoulder once and gave his downed, waterlogged partner a sympathetic look. "Come on, you're safe now." Slipping his hand under Connor's head Hank helped the deviant to sit upright on the floor a little, and supported as much of his weight as he could while Connor regained his strength and waited for the pain in his chest and stomach to ease. "Lean on me, kid. I'll get you to a facility."

"Y-Yeah... okay." Connor stammered and spit a mouthful of blue tinted water from his mouth. "Good idea."

_**-next chapter-**_


	30. Shutdown

On the first year anniversary of the successful android Revolution the city found itself in wrapped up in an emotional tension as bigoted humans attempted to protest the peaceful march of the freed deviants through Hart Plaza. What started off as a few insults being thrown and a few people being shoved around quickly turned into shouting matches and full fist fights. It didn't take long for weapons to be brought into the chaos and for blood, both red and blue, to stain the streets as bodies began falling to ground one by one.

During the fight numerous police officers were called to the scene, including Connor and Hank, and the two detectives were caught in the heart of the violence stemming from misplaced hatred, anger and fear. The enraged parties refused to give up the fight and refused to back down, even at the threat of being arrested for their crimes, and spending months in jail.

"Get down, NOW." Hank ordered as he pulled his gun on the crowd and threatened to fire. "I don't want to use excessive force!"

Connor firmly planted himself behind Hank with his back to his to ensure no one could try to attack him from behind. Rapidly scanning over the crowd Connor noted a group of particularly hostile humans brandishing knives and guns, and made sure to keep track of their every movement as he tried to maintain a sense of distance between himself and the hostile group.

"Everyone down!" Hank shouted again as he tried to get the fighting to stop, just as the S.W.A.T. team arrived to take control. "This is your FINAL warning!"

"The S.W.A.T. team has arrived." Connor stated in a somewhat calm voice as he monitored police broadcasts and the riot itself. "It'd be best to-"

A man brandishing a handgun emerged from the crowd and pointed the barrel at the side of Hank's head.

"Hank!?" Connor reacted quickly and took a step back and turned on his heel to grab Hank's shoulders and push him down to the ground of harm's way.

"What the fuck?!"

Before the two detectives hit the ground a gunshot rang out over the plaza causing many people to scream and run away in a panic. In that moment of Hank landing on his chest on the ground a searing hot pain burned through Connor's upper back and his chest, settling down in a dangerously close proximity to his Thirium pump; his heart.

As Connor let out a gasp of pain his body went completely limp as blue blood soaked through his shirt over his back and chest. Unable to get up or move an inch all Connor could go was struggle to breathe while Hank carefully moved out from under the deviant's heavy body.

"Connor, what the hell was-" Turning a little onto his hip Hank saw the blue blood all over Connor and his reaction shifted from confusion to fear. "Oh, shit!" Carefully Hank wrapped his arms around Connor's upper body and rolled the deviant so he was laying on his back and partially over Hank's lap as he knelt on the ground. Holding onto Connor and pressing his hand against the deviant's injured back to stem the bleeding as best as he could. "Hey, eyes on me, okay? You're going to be fine, Connor."

With his L.E.D. pulsing a slow red in his right temple Connor blinked up at Hank with a sluggish demeanor as he reflexively swallowed once to remove the blue blood collecting in the back of his mouth. "...Are you... hurt?"

"No, I'm good, kid. You saved my life, son." The S.W.A.T. team swarmed the plaza and honed in on the gunman for arrest. Ignoring the other people around him Hank focused on Connor and tried to ignore the torrent of blood oozing from around his hand and onto the ground beneath Connor's limp body. Pressing his other hand down over the center of Connor's chest Hank monitored the deviant's thundering heartbeat carefully. "You're going to be alright, and I'm going to get you to a facility, okay?"

"...No need. I'm... shutting down."

"NO!" The outburst was unexpected but one Hank could easily calm himself down from in order to keep Connor calm. "No... You're going to be okay."

"...Hank, my... my spinal support column... has been shattered. The bullet... is lodged in my... heart." Closing his eyes for a moment Connor acknowledged the warning and his shutdown timer before he dared himself to look Hank in the eyes once again. "I cannot... heal. ...Not this time."

"Hey, you already survived a knife to the heart, so what's one little bullet compared to that?"

Forcing himself to smile despite the pain and blood loss Connor found the strength to lift up his hand just enough to rest it over top of Hank's hand as the senior detective kept his palm pressed down over his bleeding chest. "...Thank you."

"...For what, son?"

"For being here... with me. For not letting me... die alone." Wincing in pain his L.E.D. rapidly blinked red as the light began to dim. "...For being... my friend."

"Shh..." Pulling Connor in a little closer Hank felt Connor's heartbeat beginning to slow and weaken with each passing second. It wasn't the first time Hank held a family member in arms as their life slipped away. It felt hauntingly familiar and his welling tears reflected his inner turmoil. "...It's okay."

"...It doesn't... hurt." A shuddering breath made his chest rattle for a moment as he fought to keep speaking in a weak whisper. "I'm not... scared."

"That's good." Forcing back his welling up tears Hank gave Connor a proud smile and nodded his head once. "You're the most fearless person I've ever met. You also made me proud to call you my partner, my friend... my family."

"...You're my... best friend. You... You gave me a home... and a purpose in life. I'm..." Struggling to speak as blood dripped from his mouth Connor took a moment to breathe, and could feel his strength ebbing away even as Hank held onto him as tightly as possible. "I'm glad I met you."

"Same, kid. You made my life a hell of a lot more interesting." Ignoring the sensation of Connor's heart slowing under his hand Hank had to fight to keep his voice from breaking. "Fuck, you even got me sobered up! Just... Just do me one favor. That's all I ask..."

Connor nodded a little as his eyes began to glaze over and his L.E.D. fluctuated between a pale red and a dense gray. "...Name it."

"When you get to the other side..." Letting out a calming breath Hank kept his voice level as he spoke to Connor for the final time. "Find Cole for me and be his big brother until I find you both when I get over there, okay? He always wanted a brother."

Keeping the smile on his face Connor's eyes slipped shut and his head slowly lolled to the side. "...I promise. We'll be together... w-waiting..."

The heartbeat under Hank's palm slowed more and more until it beat no more. Connor's breathing ceased and the L.E.D. stayed dark.

"...Connor?" Bending his ear down toward Connor's chest Hank heard nothing and he knew his partner, his best friend, had just passed away in his arms. Finally allowing his tears to fall Hank wrapped his arms around Connor's body and pulled him up to hug his bloody body against his chest. Holding onto Connor despite the chaos all around him Hank let his tears roll down his face and disappear into Connor's locks of unruly hair. "...Goodbye, son."

* * *

Four days passed and the lingering damage of the riot had been cleaned from the plaza, and the blood washed from the streets. The dead had been claimed and their final rights had been addressed. The funeral for Connor was one of the highest respect and honor, and one that wouldn't be forgotten. Any officer who gave up their life in the line of duty was always held with the highest of respect and regard, and with Connor being the first android detective his death also marked a page in the history books. The entire precinct showed up for the funeral, even Gavin, and paid their respects to the fallen detective.

All of New Jericho had also arrived and made sure to pay their long overdue respects toward Connor, no longer seeing him as the infamous 'Deviant Hunter', but seeing him as their ally. Markus felt as though he needed to keep his distance as he failed to protect his people during the riot, and Lucas couldn't bring himself to stand among the humans or sit with the mourners as his face and very presence made him feel like a ghost walking around his own brother's funeral.

The testimony of dozens of deviants had help solidified that the shooter who had killed Connor would remain imprisoned indefinitely, and would never set foot outside of a prison as a free man; or alive. Despite the man's arrest and heavy sentence it didn't feel like the punishment was enough, and neither the friends or family felt as though justice was truly achieved.

Unable to look Lucas in the eyes or bring himself to speak to anyone Hank sat quietly in the front row of the seats set out for the gathered mourners at the cemetery, a cemetery designated for androids only, and remained emotionally blank and cold. Ignoring the words of the people around him, ignoring the expected sympathy aimed in his direction for the loss of his partner, all Hank could think about was going back to the house, getting drunk and playing a game of 'Russian Roulette'.

Only the sound of the twenty-one gun salute managed to snap Hank out of his thoughts. Watching as the sleek, black CyberLife designed coffin with an American flag draped over it was lowered into the fresh grave with Connor's body tucked away safely inside of it Hank felt a piece of himself break away. Hank swore he'd never watch another partner get buried, let alone another member of his family.

Grief shifted to guilt, and with that guilt came the urge to drink and play a game of Russian Roulette.

"Hank," Captain Fowler sat down beside Hank and addressed the Lieutenant in a low voice. Even from the distance the seasoned captain could see that the detective was in pain and not in a good place emotionally or mentally. "what're you thinking about right now?"

"...It happened again."

"You can't blame yourself for what happened to Connor."

"Yes I can. I was there with him and the only reason he got shot is because he protected me."

"He would've done the same for any officer. Don't think your presence was the sole reason what happened had happened."

Shaking his head a little Hank closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh.

"Why aren't you sitting with Lucas? He is Connor's brother, after all."

"He's better off keeping his distance from me."

"Why's that?"

"Because I lost another son. I don't want to see him get killed because of me, too."

"No, you had your son taken from you by an idiot with too much anger and a gun."

"I should've been able to save him. That's twice I've failed as a father figure, I deserve to be alone."

"That's not true. Human or android, no one can walk off a bullet in the heart, Hank. Not even someone as stubborn and resilient as Connor."

"It should've been me. I'm old. I'm angry. I'm... I'm tired of living. Connor had a real zest for life and wanted to live. I don't."

"Maybe you should stay with me for a few days. You shouldn't be alone right now."

"Jeffrey, I _deserve_ to be alone."

"No, you don't."

"Everyone I let myself gets close to fuckin' dies... Keep away if you want to live."

"Hank, don't-"

"Go. Just leave me the fuck alone, alright?"

"...Okay." Relenting out of a long-term friendship with Hank and knowing when to back off, Captain Fowler rose from his seat beside Hank and approached the fresh grave to give Connor one last salute of respect before taking his leave. Turning to look back at Hank over his shoulder one last time Captain Fowler gave Hank an interesting thought to mull over. "Your son gave his life to save yours. Don't do anything to make his sacrifice a waste."

With a heavy heart Hank watched as the flag over the coffin was picked up and properly folded before being handed over to Hank as he had been listed as the primary family in the deviant's personnel file. As he accepted the flag Hank just stared at the object and wanted to do nothing more than pull his service weapon from his holster and press the barrel to his temple.

One squeeze of the trigger would be enough to end his pain and free him of his guilt.

"...The house just won't be the same without you, son." Holding onto the flag Hank bowed his head and allowed his tears to flow once more. "Nothing is going to be the same without you."

* * *

As hard as it was to do Hank had managed to return to the house and shower off the funeral before he put the flag down in a wooden box, and placed it in his bedroom closet on a shelf. the flag was out of sight, out of mind. Next to the box was an untouched bottle of 'Black Lamb' brand whiskey, and as soon as it was remembered it was clutched in Hank's shaking hand.

"Forgive me, Connor." Pressing the cool glass of the bottle to his forehead Hank closed his eyes in shame and closed the closet door. "I need this right now."

There was only one thing on Hank's mind, and now there was nowhere around to stop him.

"Hey, Sumo." Acknowledging the oversized dog laying over the couch Hank walked into the livingroom and knelt on the floor in front of the stereo system. Moving aside a section of loose floorboards Hank peered down into the secret compartment and pulled out a metal storage box hidden inside. "...Never thought I'd see this again."

Flipping open the box Hank sighed as he picked up the revolver that he hadn't toyed with since the night Connor broke into his house before the Revolution. Opening the chamber of the revolver Hank peered down at the single bullet still left behind, gave it a quick spin and closed the chamber again.

"...Be a good dog, okay, Sumo?"

The massive dog whimpered once as he sensed Hank's distress and watched as the human walked into the kitchen and sat down at the kitchen table with the bottle of whiskey in one hand and the revolver in the other.

"Fuckin' hell..."

Opening his bottle of whiskey Hank took a deep swig of the tea colored drink, and let out a breath that now reeked of alcohol as he tightly held the revolver in his right hand. Pressing the cold, metal barrel to his right temple Hank closed his eyes, used his thumb to pull back the hammer, and wrapped his finger around the trigger.

"I can't stand waiting anymore." Closing his eyes Hank took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "See you soon, sons."

As his finger began pressing down on the trigger a knock at the front door made his blue eyes snap open, and Sumo barked excitedly as his tail wagged.

"Fucking... Go away, Jeffrey!"

The knocking continued and Hank angrily got up from the table, marched through the livingroom and yanked open the front door with every intention of screaming in the face of whoever had intruded in on his private moment.

"I said-" His eyes went wide and his hand suddenly lost his grip on the gun as he began to shake. As the fun fell from his hand and onto the floor in a loud clatter Hank just stared at his visitor and struggled to utter a single word. "...C-Connor?"

"Hello, Hank." Connor was standing outside the door looking perfectly normal; his uniform was perfectly pressed, his hair was styled, his L.E.D. was pulsing in a calm blue color, and he had a faint grin on his face. "I'm... I'm back."

"H-How did... But I saw you... I_ felt_ you... You're supposed to be dead!"

"You're right, I am." Motioning to the serial number on his jacket Connor sighed and his soulful brown eyes began to water a little. "...Fortunately there was one RK-800 model left at New Jericho to be salvaged. My memories were successfully copied and a back-up file of my personality had been stored at New Jericho Tower in this such an event. It took some time but Markus and Lucas located the file and uploaded it into this model allowing me to return to full function."

"...What do you mean by 'this model'?" Hank eyed the jacket suspiciously and read over the serial number in his mind: 313 248 317 - 52. "..._Fifty-two_?"

"New body, but I'm still me." The resurrected deviant confirmed as he waited for Hank to respond. "I'm still Connor."

"...You came back from the dead?"

"In a sense, yes."

"And you came... here?"

"...We're family. Right?" Connor was on the verge of tears as his emotional resolve began to break down. "...This is where I feel like I... belong."

Reaching out his shaking hands Hank grabbed onto Connor's shoulders and pulled the deviant inside the doorway and wrapped his arms around Connor in a tight hug. Holding onto the deviant for dear life Hank didn't dare let Connor go as he whispered his answer. "...Yeah. We're family. You belong here."

"...I'm glad." Connor sounded a little wary, but his L.E.D. stayed blue and he knew he made the right choice. Relief washed over the deviant's mind and his heart as he knew he made the right choice by returning to Hank's house, and seeking his best friend's company. "Thank you for taking me back into your home. I wasn't so sure you would do so after everything that had happened."

"Of course I would, Connor. Never think otherwise." Hank sighed as he tightened his arms even further around Connor and felt like for the first time in his life fate was smiling at him, not mocking him. As Connor's arms wrapped around Hank to reciprocate the hug Hank moved his hand over Connor's back where he had been previously shot and let tears roll down his face and onto Connor's shoulder in utter contentment and unspoken joy. "Welcome home, son."

"I'm glad to be home." Crying as well Connor whispered his next words as he embraced Hank and felt a sense of warmth, belonging and home fill his heart where he stood. "I'm not going to go anywhere for a long time."

"Then neither will I, son."

"Thank you... dad."

_**-End of Challenge-**_


End file.
